Michael Sheen to star in new production of Our Town which will tour Wales & London
Michael Sheen will lead Our Town next year.
Sheen established the company earlier this year and also serves as artistic director. His vision is to create world-class work from Wales and take it to the world, “bringing together Welsh talent to create ambitious theatre which makes the country’s story come alive.”
As part of the programming, Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Our Town will be reimagined in an intimate Welsh setting. Sheen will star as Stage Manager under the direction of Swansea-born Francesca Goodridge.
Russell T Davies will serve as creative associate and Pádraig Cusack as executive producer.
Sheen recalled working on stage with Davies with the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company in the 1980s. He said: “Since then, Russell has become one of the greatest writers our nation has ever produced. It feels apt to come together again, 40 years later, on the first Welsh National Theatre production.”
Continuing: “The pathway laid down for us by the Youth Theatre’s founder Godfrey Evans is something we’re aspiring to recreate with this company and that’s why it’s a privilege to have Welsh, working class director Francesca Goodridge at the helm of this show.”
Goodridge added: “Relocating Our Town to Wales is a perfect match because at its heart, the play celebrates community and explores the close-knit nature of small-town life that we all recognise as it journeys through life, love and death.
“‘Hiraeth’ is a Welsh word without a perfect English translation, but it describes a kind of longing for a place, person or time that you can’t get back to. A feeling we all know but can’t put into words. Our Town brings this feeling to life by showing us, even in the most uneventful days, how precious life is and forces us to live in the present.”
The director concluded: “Now more than ever the world is an uncertain and often scary place. Our Town reminds us of the little things that make life meaningful – it’s a wake-up call for all of us to think more deeply about our lives as we are living them, not after it is too late. I feel privileged to be directing the Welsh National Theatre’s inaugural production alongside The Rose Theatre and am thrilled to be retelling this world-renowned classic through a Welsh lens.”
Tappan Wilder, Manager of the Wilder Estate said: “In 1938, my Uncle Thornton wrote a play he described as an allegorical representation of all life;—in other words, a drama about one small town that was really about all of the Grover’s Corners in every part of the world. We in the Wilder Family are thrilled that audiences in Wales will get to experience Our Town in a production led by one of their own, the great Michael Sheen. We’re sure it will be a beautiful demonstration of the play’s timeless, global appeal.”
The production will open at the Swansea Grand Theatre (Friday 16 to Saturday 31 January 2026), before visiting Venue Cymru in Llandudno (Tuesday 3 February to Saturday 7 February 2026), Theatr Clwyd in Mold (Wednesday 11 February to Saturday 21 February 2026) and the Rose Theatre, Kingston-upon-Thames (Thursday 26 February to 28 March 2026).
Tickets for the London run will go on sale today, with all three Welsh venues on sale later this month.
Further casting and creative team are to be revealed.