Actor Michael Sheen is funding a new theatre company to replace the National Theatre Wales.
Following £1.6 million (€1.9 million) cuts to its funding by Arts Council Wales, last month the National Theatre Wales (NTW) announced its closure. Now, ‘Good Omens’ actor Michael Sheen has revealed he will personally pay for its replacement.
Sheen will also be the theatre’s artistic director when it opens in the second half of 2026. The 55-year-old Welsh actor will help in its funding but has said that the theatre is also on the lookout for private and public funding.
“Welsh theatre makers, Welsh stories and Welsh actors” will be put at the forefront of the venture. “I want it to be something that represents the rich culture that we are and always have been in this country,” Sheen added.
Spending squeezed
News of the new theatre in response to the closure of the Cardiff-based NTW comes after a recent damning report found that Wales is behind all but three European nations in its spending on sport and culture.
Wales’ parliamentary report found that in an analysis of European countries, Wales was ahead of only Poland and Latvia in terms of funding for recreation and sport. In terms of culture spending, Wales was second worst, only ahead of Greece.
Iceland and Luxembourg are the biggest spenders of the two categories. The combined spend across the UK put the four nations at fifth from the bottom.
The Welsh figures put spending across culture and sport at 17% lower in real terms than it was a decade ago from 2014-15.
“Culture and sport are vital threads in the fabric of what makes life worth living: they enrich the human experience, and not merely luxuries to be enjoyed during times of plenty,” said Plaid Cymru politician Delyth Jewell who chaired the committee that made the report.
“Without significant changes, Wales risks being left behind in cultural and sporting achievements, endangering our national character and the well-being of our communities,” she added.
Theatre funding across the UK is in a perilous position. Just across the border from Wales’ capital Cardiff, the Bristol Old Vic last week announced plans to scrap its undergraduate theatre degrees.
Bristol Old Vic’s theatre school alumni includes Daniel Day-Lewis and Olivia Colman among many of the UK’s most celebrated actors. Founded in 1946, the undergraduate programme is now “financially unsustainable” and will be stopped from September this year.
Other actors who have come through the Bristol Old Vic include Jeremy Irons, Naomie Harris, Josh O’Connor, Patrick Stewart, Mark Strong, Gene Wilder, and Olivia Williams.
Caps on student fees, restrictions to international student visas, and cuts in grants as expenses have risen, have all been cited for the cut to the programme. Bristol Old Vic will continue to run its postgraduate courses in acting.
Source: Euro News
