Hot tip - Pint-Sized Plays

A wealth of theatrical entertainment will be showcased when entries in the debut 2013 Pint-Sized Plays competition are staged for the public to enjoy, free of charge, on Sunday night.

Aspiring playwrights from Queenstown, Arrowtown, Dunedin, Canberra and Wales entered a total of eight original short plays in the writing competition, which was organised by Remarkable Theatre over the past six-months.

Some of the writers took the option of acting and directing their pieces, or opted for theatre players to perform instead. A total of 20 thespians will take to the stage.

Challenging restrictions to the Pint-Sized Plays include a duration of five to 10 minutes, the use of up to three actors or actresses and the use of minimal props, all in a pub environment.

The names of the authors are kept secret until after the audience votes for its favourite play.

Organiser and entertainer David Cantwell, of Arrowtown, was inspired to introduce the competition to the Wakatipu after watching Pint-Sized Plays performed in a Welsh pub.

A play-swapping agreement was set up between the two theatrical societies and the winner of the New Zealand competition on Sunday will be entered in the Welsh competition when it is held later this year.

''It's a writing competition, but we want to encourage new actors and directors and expand the theatre scene in Queenstown,'' Mr Cantwell said this week.

The submitted plays were ''extremely imaginative and entertaining, bearing in mind the constraints they had to write in, and all are thoroughly deserving of their public performances.''

The first annual Pint-Sized Plays New Zealand competition will be held in the Wild Thyme Bar and Restaurant in SkyCity Queenstown Casino, on Sunday, March 3, at 7pm. Admission will be free, although gold coin donations will be welcome.