Talk of The town

Michael Sheen on building a new Welsh National Theatre company, as its first show reimagines an American classic in his homeland

- Kate Wyver

SINCE THORNTON WILDER WROTE OUR TOWN IN 1938, it is said that not a day has passed when the Pulitzer-prizewinning show hasn't been performed.

"Every time I read it, I come away with the feeling of having been woken up," says Michael Sheen, star of the touring production of Wilder's play about a close-knit community in small-town America.

"With this urgent sense of 'I have to not waste this."" Transposing the heart of the American classic to Wales, this new production also marks the launch of Welsh National Theatre, a hugely ambitious company formed - and financed -by Sheen in response to the collapse of the former National Theatre Wales. "Opening night is going to be more than just the opening night of a play," says Russell T Davies, the show's creative associate. "I think in 10 years, we'll be having a marvellous celebration that all began with Our Town."

The creation of Welsh National Theatre is a galvanising statement of intent, particularly given the increasing number of theatres in Wales facing cuts and closures. Aiming to champion big stories on big stages, the new venture stands up against the continual devaluing of the arts, with a recent UK cross-party report finding that Wales spends less on culture than almost every other European nation (the only country lower is Greece).

Now into that picture bursts Welsh National Theatre, a company fuelled by the desire to create large-scale platforms for Welsh talent, and to influence and expand the Welsh canon. Sheen says he wanted to "go back to basics" with a company that blends a community focus with grand, global ambition, "to attract and build an audience, and use that as an engine to address the more infrastructural problems.