Michael Sheen to Play Owain Glyndŵr for New Welsh National Theatre

If you've ever watched an interview with Good Omens star Michael Sheen, you've heard the actor talk about his Welsh heritage. It's something he's incredibly proud of, and he's dedicated much of his personal time, energy, and wealth to promoting Wales and the cause of Welsh culture. From inspirational speeches to the Welsh football team to buying up £1 million of debt belonging to residents of his native Port Talbot and paying it all off, he's one of the few celebrities out there who's putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to supporting Welsh culture and storytelling. When National Theatre Wales announced it would shutter in 2024, Sheen funded the launch of a new Welsh National Theatre where he'll be Artistic Director, aiming to tell stories grounded in Welsh culture and history, including new work Owain & Henry. 

Sheen only revealed the project publicly in January 2025; however, the theater has already set the show dates to kick off its inaugural season in 2026. Following tradition, the WNT will open with a revival of Our Town, which centers on life in Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, between 1901 and 1931. Thornton Wilder's classic is said to have been a favorite of poet Dylan Thomas and influenced his depiction of village life in Under Milk Wood. As is appropriate, the revival is being reimagined through a Welsh lens. The production will be directed by Francesca Goodridge (Nye), and Doctor Who's Russell T. Davies will serve as a creative associate. It's set to tour Wales for several weeks before closing out its run at London's Rose Theatre in Kingston Upon Thames.

“Our Town is a play about life, love, and community. That’s what matters to us in Wales; that’s what matters to me," Sheen, who will star as the lead role of the Stage Manager, said. "It’s a play that compels us to celebrate the every day, to hold the ones we cherish."

A Thornton Wilder revival will feel familiar to anyone who ever did high school theater (or attended an opening of their own local theaters); the Welsh National Theatre's second production will probably garner the most interest. Sheen is also set to star as the legendary Welsh folk hero known as Owain Glyndŵr in Owain and Henry, a new play by Gary Wright that's set tol premiere in Cardiff in November. The production will tell the story of the famous Welsh leader, soldier, and military commander who led a 15-year-long revolt against English rule in Wales during the Middle Ages. 

Primarily remembered by most nowadays for the fun fact that he was the last Prince of Wales who was a native-born Welshman, Owain ap Gruffydd is an iconic figure in the country's history, a national leader whose memory has been mythologized in the vein of King Arthur. (He, too, is meant to return and liberate his people one day.) But while some might remember the largely unflattering portrayal Glyndŵr receives in William Shakespeare's Henry IV plays, most likely know very little about him. Owain & Henry aims to change that, putting the prince front and center and tackling themes of nationalism and Welsh history.

Here's the play's description: 

It’s 1400. The washed-up lord of a tiny spit of land in north Wales is declared outlaw by King Henry IV. But rather than surrendering to his fate, Owain Glyndŵr rises in rebellion. Five years later, Owain is leader of a grand alliance of Welsh, English and French troops. He invades England and meets the army of Henry IV outside Worcester. The rebels have the bigger army, and the higher ground. 

If the rebels win, it will be not just the end of Henry IV. It will be freedom for Wales – and the end of England.

"I knew that to tell Owain’s story on stage would mean a epic show, at huge scale, Wright said. "I’d tried writing smaller versions of the story and they didn’t work.  They didn’t give you a sense of what was at stake.  Owain’s play, like Owain’s struggle, would have to be all or nothing."

Owain and Henry is a Welsh National Theatre co-production with Wales Millennium Centre and will premiere in Cardiff in November 2026. 

“Playing the iconic Welsh prince on one of Europe’s biggest stages in our capital city will, I hope, be a defining moment for us as a people, and a culture," Sheen said. "This is what Welsh National Theatre is all about.”

Our Town opens on Friday, January 16, 2026; tickets will go on sale this month for venues in Swansea, Llandudno, Mold, and London. Owain & Henry is set to open in November 2026; bookings will open in August for Millennium Centre members (August 4, 2025) and the general public (August 8, 2025). In the meantime, Sheen will reprise his role as Aneurin Bevan in Nye this summer, starting Friday, July 3, 2025, at London's National Theatre.