Michael Sheen’s Welsh National Theatre is heading to the West End for the first time, with the Port Talbot actor leading a major production of Amadeus alongside Pontypridd star Callum Scott Howells.
Sheen will play composer Antonio Salieri opposite Howells as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Peter Shaffer’s celebrated play, which opens at the New Theatre in Cardiff in March 2027 before transferring to London the following month as part of the company’s 2027/28 programme.
It marks a full-circle moment for Sheen, who first played Mozart in the late 1990s to major acclaim in London and on Broadway, before later taking on the role of Salieri at Sydney Opera House — making him the first major star to play both lead roles in the production.
Sheen, who is the Welsh National Theatre’s artistic director, said the casting felt personal. “To play Salieri opposite a fellow Welshman as Mozart — a role that has meant so much to me — feels very special indeed,” he said.
“I directed Callum in my television drama The Way — he’s an extraordinary talent who deserves this stage and audiences should be excited for what’s to come.”
(Image: Danny Kaan / Margo Jones Agency)
Howells, who won the Bafta Cymru for best actor in 2021 for his portrayal of Colin in Channel 4’s It’s a Sin, last appeared in the West End in Cabaret in 2022-23. He also stars in Madfabulous, about a wealthy and eccentric 19th century Welsh aristocrat, which is due for release in June.
It’s a Sin was created by Swansea-born writer and producer Russell T Davies, the BAFTA-winning television dramatist behind Doctor Who, Queer as Folk and Years and Years. The show, which followed a group of gay men living through the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 90s, was Channel 4’s most-watched drama series at the time of its release and earned widespread critical acclaim — with Howells’s performance as the quietly devastating Colin Morris-Jones widely regarded as the show’s emotional heart.
Set in 1820 Vienna, Amadeus follows Salieri — a respected court composer — who becomes consumed by jealousy over Mozart’s genius and sets out to destroy the man he both worships and despises. The production will be directed by Jeremy Herrin.
Sheen described the West End transfer as “an important next step” for the Welsh National Theatre, which he established to fill the gap left by the folding of National Theatre Wales. The company set up its home in Swansea and opened with a powerful debut production of Our Town at Swansea Grand Theatre, which received widespread acclaim.
The Welsh National Theatre’s founding chief executive Sharon Gilburd said the company would “bring to life our vision of what an English language national theatre for Wales should be.”
The company’s full programme for the upcoming year will be revealed in May at an event with Bad Wolf, featuring classics as well as new work. It follows the acclaimed run of Matthew Rhys’s Burton play, which brought another major Welsh star back to the stage in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot.
Sheen, born in Port Talbot, is one of Wales’s most recognisable actors, having played a host of high-profile roles including Tony Blair, Brian Clough and journalist David Frost in acclaimed television productions.
Discover more from Swansea Bay News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
