Sheen to play Welsh prince Owain Glyndŵr in 'epic' production

He has been celebrated for playing the roles of a British prime minister and an English king but the Welsh actor Michael Sheen is now relishing the prospect of starring as a noted leader from his homeland - Owain Glyndŵr, the medieval Prince of Wales.

- Steven Morris

Sheen will take the lead in a new play, Owain & Henry, to be staged by his fledgling company, Welsh National Theatre, and hopes it will become a "defining moment" for Wales, triggering conversations about how it became the country it is, the pressing social issues it faces and the question of independence.

Sheen said the play, written in blank verse by the Welsh playwright Gary Owen, was a "stonking epic", challenging the depiction of Shakespeare's unflattering picture of Glyndŵr in his Henry IV plays.

"The Owain that Gary has written is incredibly pragmatic, very real, dealing with the really difficult and sometimes disturbing choices a leader has to make," he said. "The play is brutal at times, it's funny, subversive, challenging, controversial. When I first read it, I got to about five scenes in and thought, it can't keep up like this, but it does."

Glyndŵr led an uprising against the English crown in the 15th century and remains a hugely revered figure in Wales.