Overview

• Sheen said the school plays, council-funded youth theatre and grants that helped him reach drama school have largely disappeared.
• He argued that reliance on family money makes relocating to London prohibitively expensive for many aspiring actors, so opportunities must be taken nationwide.
• His remarks came in a conversation with Bad Wolf chief executive Jane Tranter at the festival’s opening event.
• He said his new Welsh National Theatre is part of his response, with its first production, Our Town, reimagined through a Welsh lens by Russell T Davies.
• The comments follow upheaval in Welsh theatre, including National Theatre Wales closing in December 2024 after its funding was withdrawn in 2023.