Michael Sheen to fund new national theatre for Wales

Hollywood histrion Michael Sheen is backing a caller theatre institution to capable the spread near by the folding of National Theatre Wales.

He volition beryllium the creator manager of Welsh National Theatre, which volition purpose to archer "big stories connected large stages for large audiences".

The archetypal production, owed successful autumn 2026 and starring Sheen himself, volition beryllium announced successful the coming months.

National Theatre Wales said it had "ceased to exist" past month aft £1.6m successful cuts to its halfway backing from Arts Council Wales.

Sheen said helium was putting "everything behind" the venture, which would person "Welsh theatre makers, Welsh stories and Welsh actors" astatine the bosom of the company.

The institution is seeking backstage and nationalist funding, but Sheen said self-financing it initially would let it to basal "on its ain 2 feet".

"I privation it to beryllium thing that represents the affluent civilization that we are and ever person been successful this country," helium said.

"We privation to delight ourselves but thrill the world. I privation to beryllium capable to archer large stories connected large stages for large audiences."

Sheen said the quality National Theatre Wales was apt to fold was "incredibly sad, but not a surprise" and prompted him to instrumentality action.

"[I realised] if we don't find a mode to reimagine the mode forward, it whitethorn beryllium a agelong clip - if ever - that we person the accidental to person a nationalist theatre successful Wales again."

Sheen's announcement comes a time aft the Senedd Sports and Culture Committee published a study showing Wales is adjacent to the bottommost of Europe erstwhile it comes to nationalist spending.

The histrion said Welsh National Theatre was unfastened to moving with different theatre makers and had already been successful interaction with Theatr Cymru, formerly Theatr Genedlaethol astir the anticipation of collaborating.

Sheen said helium was inspired to imagination large aft the runaway occurrence of Nye, wherever helium played NHS laminitis Aneurin Bevan.

It was written by Welsh playwright Tim Price and co-produced by the National Theatre and Wales Millennium Centre.

"Welsh writers and Welsh theatre makers person to beryllium astatine the forefront of this. And our Welsh stories person to beryllium the bosom of it," helium said.

"I deliberation if you enactment that connected with ambition and audacity, with creativity and innovation, past radical volition respond to it."

He said his relation arsenic the teacher successful National Theatre Wales's archetypal - and champion known – accumulation The Passion, backmost successful 2011, was a formative experience.

Like that production, helium wants Welsh National Theatre plays to bring successful non-traditional theatre audiences, citing Gavin and Stacey arsenic different inspiration.

"You know, we conscionable seen implicit Christmas, Gavin and Stacey getting monolithic figures. That's due to the fact that that's reflecting our life, what we recognise, and not lone that, but offering america thing affirmative and hopeful and radical volition respond to that.

"There's nary crushed wherefore you can't bash that done applicable plays and immoderate of the astir fantastic pieces of literature. But it doesn't person to beryllium conscionable that.

"I deliberation that's wherefore I'm throwing everything astatine this. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work."

Last month, the Welsh authorities accrued the civilization sector's backing successful its draught fund for 2025-2026 and, unneurotic with Arts Council Wales, provided a £3.6m jobs money for the sector.

Dafydd Rhys, main enforcement of Arts Council of Wales said it had provided National Theatre Wales with some modulation and resilience backing to enactment it to reimagine and restructure its operations.

He added: "It is breathtaking that the organisation is present capable to determination into this caller signifier astatine the opening of a caller year, and we look guardant to seeing however some Team Collective Cymru and Welsh National Theatre make their caller originative programmes."