Michael Sheen launches the Welsh National Theatre

Michael Sheen has today announced the formation of the Welsh National Theatre, with the actor sharing a vision to create world class work from Wales and take it to the world.

The Welsh National Theatre is a new organisation, separate but complementary to Theatr Cymru, which was established in 2003 as the Welsh language national company.

Michael Sheen, who will be the theatre’s artistic director, said: “This is a new dawn for theatre in Wales. We’ll be a home for our greatest talent, bringing them together to create ambitious theatre which makes our national story come alive. That’s what national theatres should do.

“Wales has such a rich storytelling history but our stories are underexplored in the English language, both at home and internationally. I’ve spent much of the past year on stage playing Aneurin Bevan in Tim Price’s Nye to packed houses, both in and out of Wales. Audiences have a huge appetite for our stories if we give them the chance to experience them.

“Our plays and performances will tell the stories of Wales’ past, present and future, as well as classics seen through a Welsh lens. They’ll be produced on the grandest stages around the world, by world-class Welsh talents. We want truly ambitious writing from Welsh playwrights for the best actors in Wales, to be the pinnacle of our creative talent, raising the bar for excellence in entertainment.

“We want to help create a world where the stories of Wales help us make sense of tomorrow. Where the people of Wales understand their power to change society thanks to the spark of a performance on our stage. Where Wales is respected as a nation with a powerful voice and a story to tell.”

Its a beautiful morning @WelshNatTheatre https://t.co/LYrA46TFAI

— michael sheen 💙 (@michaelsheen) January 10, 2025

In December, National Theatre Wales decided it would “evolve” its community engagement section Team (Theatre, Education Arts, Music) into its own organisation.

This off-shoot will be relaunched this year, it said.

Good Omens star Sheen has experience of directing, including the three-part BBC drama series The Way, which was filmed in and around Port Talbot.

The series imagines a family caught up in a civil uprising which begins in their small industrial town.

In 2011, he performed as a Christ-like character in a 72-hour live National Theatre Wales production called The Passion, of which he was co-director and creative director.

Sheen, who grew up in Neath Port Talbot, is known for playing interviewer Sir David Frost in Frost/Nixon, the Underworld film series, portraying the Duke of York in Prime Video show A Very Royal Scandal, and US researcher William Masters in Showtime series Masters Of Sex.

Announcements on the new theatre’s first production will follow in due course.