Hollywood actor Michael Sheen has revealed he is funding a new theatre company to fill the gap left by the folding of National Theatre Wales.
National Theatre Wales announced last month it “ceased to exist” after Arts Council Wales cut £1.6 million of its core funding.
But inspired by the success of Nye – a play where Sheen played NHS founder Aneurin Bevan – the Newport-born actor has come to the rescue.
He will be the artistic director of Welsh National Theatre, which will aim to tell “big stories on big stages for big audiences”, the BBC reported.
Michael Sheen is funding a new theatre company to fill the gap left by the folding of National Theatre Wales.
After a hugely successful Gavin and Stacey special, @JustinonWeb asks the Hollywood actor what attracts people to great Welsh drama?#R4Today
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) January 10, 2025
Speaking on the Today show on BBC Radio 4, Sheen said: “The appetite from the [Nye] audience in Wales was extraordinary.
“And what it made me feel was, in light of the demise of National Theatre Wales with all its funding being cut, it made me realise there is an appetite for this.
“If you put the right things together, the right conditions together, there is a huge appetite, huge potential here.”
Michael Sheen to fund new theatre company to replace National Theatre Wales
Sheen said the new Welsh National Theatre was seeking private and public funding but would eventually attract big enough crowds to become self-funded.
But until funding is sorted out, the Port Talbot-based actor said he would pay for everything.
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Sheen said: “What I’ve found is if I’m prepared to put my own money up, it encourages other people to get on board as well.
“Also, I’m not waiting around for other people to say yes or no to this. I want there to be a Welsh National Theatre, I’m not going to stand around grumbling about it, I’m going to put my money where my mouth is.
“So until we’ve got the funding sorted out properly, I’ll pay for anything that needs paying for.”
The new theatre company was inspired by the success of Nye. (Image: Stefan Rousseau/PA)
What to expect from the new Welsh National Theatre
Sheen said he wanted the new Welsh National Theatre to “represent the people of Wales” and attract Welsh directors and actors from within and outside the country.
The first production, due in autumn 2026 and starring Sheen himself, will be announced in the coming months, according to the BBC.
When asked on BBC Radio 4 about what kind of plays the new theatre company would be putting on, Sheen said: “Doing something that speaks to the people, that seems to reflect their lives and their experience and has residence for them, has meaning, inspires them, makes them feel hope, says this is for you and about you.
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“That doesn’t matter whether it’s Gavin and Stacey, Nye, Wolf Hall, whatever it is, it’s touching people and connecting people and telling stories that are relevant.
“And if you do that, and what Nye proved to me, is that if you put something on that people want to see, they will come and so that made me feel, I want to do more of this.”
Sheen was hoping the new theatre company would help bring “different organisations together in Wales” including the likes of Welsh National Opera and Theatre Cymru.
Sheen added: “This is the beginning of a new era, a new chapter.”