ONE of Swindon’s leading theatre companies is calling on people to use their creativity and come up with a new name.

Sixth Sense marks its 30th anniversary next year and is looking to mark the occasion with a series of major events.

As well as putting on professional shows, the organisation also runs the Swindon Youth Theatre, leading to some confusion.

Therefore, the anniversary is being used as an opportunity to end this confusion and bring everything under one name.

Artistic director, Mark Powell, said: “We want everyone to understand who we are and what we do.

"Instead of having to explain two names to people we thought it would be much easier to explain just the one.

"I sat down with the team and we thought about a few possible alternatives but in the end we thought it should be the young people which use us who decide.

"We now cover a range of activities so we want something which encompasses everything we do. Even though we have only recently started we have had some good suggestions so I am looking forward to what everyone has to say."

Mark is hoping the final decision will be made by December so everything can be in place for when the anniversary celebrations begin.

A lot is planned for next year, including taking Sixth Sense further afield.

Mark said: “We are very excited by what will be happening and we a have a few national projects coming up. Terry Dreary, who writes the horrible histories, has agreed to write a play for us so that will be a world premier.

“There are also arrangements in place with the Birmingham Rep, the Bolton Octogon and the Cahoots children’s theatre in Belfast. If we are going to be introducing ourselves to the world then it is the perfect time to get a new name.”

Sixth Sense and Swindon Youth Theatre have been a strong presence in the region for three decades, something Mark is keen to maintain.

He said: “A lot of people might not know who we are because a lot of what we do is in the schools but we have had support from council since we started at not many organisations can say that.

“We are hoping to expand to even further afield in the area.”

Anyone who has any suggestions for a new name can put it forward by visiting www.surveymonkey.com/r/NEWNAMEFORSIXTHSENSE.