THE 2018 York Mystery Plays need to raise £5,000 through Crowdfunding by August 31 if the wagon wheels are to roll on September 9, 12 and 16 after Arts Council funding was not forthcoming.

Mounted by York Festival Trust in tandem with the York Guilds, the street plays require "a last little push" to ensure they go ahead. "After a lot of research, the team have decided to go down the route of Crowdfunding to help get that last little bit of help that’s needed from the community to make it happen," says trust chairman Roger Lee.

York Festival Trust has staged the Mystery Plays on the city streets on behalf of York’s historic Guilds every four years since 1998 and is the only organisation at present staging large-scale productions on a regular basis.

Months of hard work behind the scenes have established a set of volunteers, sponsors and donators to make September's 20th anniversary performances a success, but the Arts Council's thumbs-down has led to the urgent goal of raising funds through SpaceHive "to help keep this historic tradition alive".

For 2018, York Festival Trust and participating Guilds, groups and companies are developing all aspects of the pageant wagon production to "get as many people as possible to experience this amazing event".

"Dating back to Medieval times, the York Mystery Plays are of huge cultural and historical significance to the city," says Roger. "There are now only four remaining 'cycles' of the Plays left throughout the UK, with York being the most complete. In September, York Festival Trust will bring 11 of the original plays to life on pageant wagons, bringing music, theatre and spectacle to the city, with the communities of the City of York coming together to participate and celebrate this historic milestone."

Tom Straszewski, Pageant Master and artistic director of the 2018 plays, says: "The Mysteries are a vital part of York's heritage, but they're not a museum piece, and they demand to be performed. We've got a huge range of people involved: butchers, builders, schoolchildren, students, even a whole company of accountants.

"They've found something in the plays that they connect to: a push for freedom, the temptation of glory or worldly wealth, or even just the chance to dance and sing. I hope the audiences will respond just as heartily to their enthusiasm and talent, but to get there we need a last bit of funding. It'll go towards stewards and signage, on props and costumes, on public lectures and workshops, and ensuring that each play is the best it can be. And for those further afield, it's the chance to be a vital part of the production, helping to create another historic year for the York Mysteries.”

To back the project with a Crowdfunding donation, go to spacehive.com/yorkmysteryplays?searchText=york%20mystery%20plays.

Charles Hutchinson