Sheen will be the artistic director of the Welsh National Theatre and plans to feature in its first production, currently set for fall 2026 at
The actor said the closure of National Theatre Wales was “incredibly sad, but not a surprise”, and that it motivated him to find a solution. “ if we don’t find a way to reimagine the way forward, it may be a long time — if ever — that we have the opportunity to have a national theater in Wales again.
“I want it to be something that represents the rich culture that we are and always have been in this country,” he continued, explaining that the company is seeking private and public funding but self-financing initially allows the business to stand “on its own two feet”. “We want to please ourselves but thrill the world. I want to be able to tell big stories on big stages for big audiences.”, a play written by Tim Price and directed by Rufus Norris, which ran at the Wales Millennium Centre for a short period. Its success inspired Sheen, as“Welsh writers and Welsh theater makers have to be at the forefront of this. And our Welsh stories have to be the heart of it,” Sheen added.