Six new plays in two days is a massive undertaking by anyone’s standards, let alone for someone who has a full-time job.

But having started the Random Theatre Company to showcase his own work, Chris Sivewright decided to give other wannabe playwrights the chance to stage their plays by running a national competition. The theme was ‘wellbeing and retreats’ and you’ll be able to see the results for yourself on Monday and Tuesday at the Burton Taylor Theatre.

The winners, and Chris’s own work, will be debuted for the first time right here in Oxford using professional actors.

This has definitely been a labour of love, but the wealth of entries surprised even Chris, because although the theme was fairly specific, the subject matter varied enormously.

“One submitted play was all about suicide as a retreat from life, while another featured soldiers retreating from a battle,” Chris laughs, “which obviously didn’t really fit in with our ‘wellbeing’ theme.”

Instead, the winners plays featured everything from a school assembly to extra-marital affairs, undercover cops, gangsters, homelessness and wife swapping, which should keep you all on the edge of your seats.

“It’s been a massive challenge,” Chris, a tutorial college teacher admits. “But a great way to involve everybody from the actors to the writers and directors in the finished product. So while it’s a big gamble, it’s something I really wanted to do, And where better than Oxford?”

Playwright Jonathan Skinner, whose entry Kind was a winner, said staging his play has been almost as exciting as winning the competition itself.

“I’m absolutely delighted,” he says. “And having a theme really helped creatively because the hardest thing is starting from scratch with a blank piece of paper. This gave you the stimulus and a deadline to work to which was really helpful.”

So what next? “I have since adapted Kind into a 45-minute radio play and a full-length one act stage show, so the future looks bright,” Jonathan grins. “But in the meantime I’ve got to get over my first night nerves, because although I’m not acting in it, I do get nervous.”

SEE IT
Two evenings of new drama – never performed before – by Almost Random Theatre take place on Monday and Tuesday at the Burton Taylor Studio. 01865 305305. oxfordplayhouse.com