Thoughts on… Welsh National Theatre and Michael Sheen [by Jannat Ahmed]

Listen to the audio version of this post on YouTube.

Let’s begin by saying this think piece isn’t a takedown. If that’s what you wish to read, I encourage you to write your own.

My intention here is to give space to an alternative narrative. My aim: to channel some of the behind-the-scenes chatter to a more public forum, so it is not only the people with the best access to publicity who shape the narrative of the Welsh arts scene as it pertains to the new Welsh National Theatre (WNT). Public scrutiny of a big-name organisation is a fearful prospect, so I am grateful to everyone who has shared their thoughts, support, questions and critique. I hope this piece honours your offerings. 

While my experience of the Welsh theatre scene is limited, and my experience of the wider UK scene even more so, if there is one thing to which I am highly attuned, it is social in/justice. Perceived social in/justice is, in part, what I want to explore in this piece, examining how fame and name can be leveraged to steer a potentially large amount of public funding towards an under-developed organisation.

In late 2023, National Theatre Wales (NTW) established in 2009, was defunded by Arts Council Wales (ACW). ACW’s decision-making and announcement process for NTW’s defunding was highly controversial, and requires its own column that I am not equipped to write. In the dust of NTW’s defunding, however, Michael Sheen set up a new, initially self-financed, organisation: Welsh National Theatre. He explained his mission thus: ‘We want to please ourselves but thrill the world. I want to be able to tell big stories on big stages for big audiences’ with ‘Welsh theatre makers, Welsh stories and Welsh actors’. The company would seek ‘private and public funding’ according to the BBC, with WNT’s Chief Executive Sharon Gilburd stating, ‘We cannot have an expectation of receiving significant public subsidy in the current climate, therefore we have to have a model that enables us to be attractive to funders and to audiences alike.’ 

Earlier this month, Arts Council Wales launched their Major Productions fund. This fund could not be more well-timed. Its deadline fast approaches (January 28th 2026), and is for funding up to £300k ‘designed to support ambitious, high-quality live arts experiences that celebrate Welsh creativity on a larger scale’, leading some to believe it was designed specifically to help support WNT output. This chimes with the predominant good will behind, and positive public opinion of, the WNT project. On the basis of optics alone, it was a blow to lose NTW to ACW defunding. Surely an organisation primarily funded by ACW for so many years deserved a chance to take stock, and redevelop? (Fortunately, they have – thanks to intervention from Cardiff Council NTW has been transformed to TEAM Collective Cymru.) Still, Wales deserves its own National Theatre. Like many, I felt that Sheen’s company would be a net positive. Someone with talent and status, with a history of personal cultural investment, putting his money and energy towards serving Welsh audiences, and the future of Welsh arts and culture as a whole. A figurehead, to put our work on the map.

If there is one thing to admire from Sheen, it is momentum. Since sharing his idea in January 2025, Sheen has moved doggedly forwards. His projects are now coming to fruition. Over the last few weeks I have seen coverage of ‘Playing Burton’, ‘Our Town’, and ‘Owain & Henry’, both online and off. He has, evidently, the people and the press in his pocket. He has secured notable performance venues, actors and writers, and I would expect no less. However, as progress is made leading up to their inaugural season in 2026, I find I’m not alone in my concerns about WNT’s strategy: to side-along star-of-the-show Sheen (also Artistic Director), with up-and-coming talent, at pace. If not now, I fear that this will eventually funnel already over-stretched public arts funding away from those who need it most. Sheen and his famous friends are front and centre of the productions we are due to expect. Although it seems he has cast the net wide to lure attractive talent, why does the work feel disappointingly egotistical, favouritist, and nepotistic?

People will come to watch the talent, of course. The work will inspire a new generation, contribute to a sense of national pride, shape the way Wales is seen nationally and internationally, and all manner of other good things. But I wonder when and how and where and what room will be made to develop new talent to take centre stage. Writers, producers, actors, directors. What might this new talent actually look like? How will they be developed? My personal concern is that those who will benefit most from WNT’s development, long-term, will stem from yet more favouritism. Why? Because the organisation lacks appropriate infrastructure, and is itself under-developed. This can lead to all sorts of missteps that could quite easily be avoided with a more considered approach. If ego is an issue at WNT, and allegedly, it is, then it follows that those who are ready to massage said egos will rise highest. This threat to inequality of opportunity can only be prevented with the right safeguards and robust oversight. In their current business model, with Sheen at the top, there is no room for accountability to be administered effectively. 

My issue is the injustice I perceive in the obvious privilege Sheen experiences being able to sidestep thoughtful outreach and strategy in this cultural space. While other arts organisations in Wales must align, or warp, or bend their vision to meet ACW strategy, to attract funding – they are rightfully expected to deliver on particular co-signed contracts when in receipt of public money – I fear the same accountability will be lax when it comes to awarding and assessing WNT in the future. 

While for others there must be a business plan; a concerted effort towards community engagement and outcomes; a demonstrable consideration of infrastructure; the meaningful and consistent use of Cymraeg; co-signed equitable, professional partnerships; HR; fair compensation; experienced or competent staff brought on through (I hope) a fair application and interview process; WNT have managed to avoid almost all of this at the outset. I appreciate the organisation is new. I appreciate it is founder-led. And I appreciate how much a founder must leverage to see their big vision for theatre become reality. Of course, there is room to improve at the beginning of things. However, for a national mission, I feel the nation of Wales is largely missing. Or rather, a sense of authenticity about Wales. Lost in the myth-making of Wales, lost in the Father Christmas-like laughter and charisma of Sheen. 

Has there been (compensated) consultations and research carried out to understand what is already happening in the arts scene in Wales? To understand the pitfalls of NTW and other defunded organisations? To understand the mission of the National Theatre in the UK? And how it might be adapted to suit Wales? Are there any planned (compensated) consultations going forward? I am not a fan of bureaucracy, but I know that, when done well, it offers transparency for all stakeholders. To be frank, I am put out that I seem to be suggesting more paperwork as a solution, but I think clearly written documentation, and well-organised and recorded facilitation, is a vital safeguarding tool. When all else fails, the written word prevails. 

Behind the scenes, allegations of bullying, severely delayed or non-payment, and a lack of professionalism, come to the fore with Michael Sheen and his WNT. It was these allegations that encouraged me to seek out the thoughts and experiences of others. Unfortunately, these kinds of allegations are not unique to one person, nor to one theatre company. (In Wales, I look to Fio under the Artistic Direction of Sita Thomas as a recent example. Board and funder interventions addressed alleged concerns.) However, personally, I find it all the more grating when the allegations apply to someone whose business strategy is to be the main character, praised for their work on and off the stage, therefore never able to be held truly accountable for disrespecting others along the way. It is too much greatness for one man. In ‘Twelfth Night’, Some are born great […] Some achieve greatness […] And some have greatness thrust upon them forms the premise of one of the most iconic scenes of physical comedy in Shakespeare’s entire works. What scene might have followed the words: Some thrust greatness upon themselves? 

Allegations aside, there is something so deeply annoying about someone who is good at one job (acting), acting like they’re the bee’s knees, and putting themselves in a position of power (Artistic Director) that will likely dictate the programme of the biggest shows with the greatest investment Wales has ever seen, for years to come, under the name Welsh National Theatre. Self-confidence and self-belief are important qualities to cultivate, but so is humility. I wish Sheen would at least share the role with someone who has actual experience and competency first, and then take credit if he must.

I am sure WNT will succeed in bringing Wales to a worldwide audience, but the problems of the past will inevitably remain: a lack of strategy and public funding, and an overabundance of ego. I am concerned, at the beginning at least, it will be even harder for smaller theatre companies, actors, writers, directors, producers, etc., in Wales to make their mark, unless they court this new establishment. Yet I suffer from optimism. I know people, and I believe if problems do occur, those who work on WNT projects will tire, break off and start their own ventures. And maybe that’s the kind of development work we need in Wales. A chance to network with, and learn from, the biggest and the best, to borrow what we need and make it our own. Work can co-exist. If nothing else, WNT is a wake-up call to ourselves, and to the world, about what Wales has to offer. 

Beyond anything, I would like to give this new company a chance, given there is no better alternative. I call on everyone who cares about the arts in Wales to bear witness to what unfolds, and to speak. Please use this piece as a basis to converse constructively. Most things in life aren’t all good, or all bad. But they are vastly improved when we engage with one another in good faith. I believe it will be the unchecked egos at the heart of WNT that ensure their infrastructure remains under-developed, unfavourable, and unsustainable. So, my proposed antidote is to check them. To those in the rib-cage: prospective private and public funders, theatre executives, peers of Sheen, especially those who share in his privilege of being a white man, I ask that you are the ones who hold Sheen accountable, who challenge, who insist on transparency, professionalism, and respect. Ultimately, my view is that being a good actor means that Sheen will most certainly act like a good Artistic Director, but he should let someone else write the script, and let someone else help direct, too. 

I am still collecting thoughts on WNT and Michael Sheen’s leadership via our Google Form until 31 December 2025. The form is anonymous; I hope the piece above shows how I seek to present the information and thoughts you share. The responses I have received so far have shaped this one. If there are more perspectives to offer, I will write another follow-up piece in January. 

P.S. If anyone at WNT reads this, I kindly request you change the background colour of your website. The pure red on some of those pages hurts my eyes.

ADDENDUM [Amended 3 December 2025]

​​What began as a piece focused on alternative narratives around the inception of a ‘national’ theatre project in receipt of public money has revealed yet more concerns. We have been made aware of allegations of a major conflict of interest in the awarding of ACW funding to WNT, on the basis that Sharon Gilburd was allegedly Acting Chief Executive at WNT while Chair of the Board at the now-defunct NTW.

It is my understanding that Sharon Gilburd allegedly failed to disclose her private gain when acting as then-Chair of the Board of NTW, overseeing the NTW’s board’s decision to revoke a greater portion of their Transition and Resilience funding back to ACW to be awarded to WNT, from which she would personally benefit. ACW deviated from due process here, in accepting revoked funds and re-awarding them to an under-developed ‘National’ organisation, with ACW allegedly also going back on their word about actions they would take if affected parties were able to prove this conflict of interest had taken place.

Questions have arisen about the equality of reporting obligations of the two organisations now in receipt of the public money once intended for Transition and Resilience for one organisation, and the precedent this sets for ACW-awarded grants of £200k+ to organisations that don’t meet ACW’s usual criteria, including use of the Welsh language for National organisations, self-appointment and a lack of open recruitment, and fair pay. There are further questions around the use of ‘National’ for which other organisations in Wales have needed to seek government support and approval.

There are further questions surrounding Tim Price’s open letter on NTW, and his succeeding role as Literary Manager at WNT, with further, separate allegations of bullying. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources nor the time to put in a Freedom of Information Request to evidence the deviation of due process at ACW of which we have been made aware. 

We request, instead, that affected and concerned parties contact relevant members of Welsh Government (Scroll down to view committee members at the following link: https://senedd.wales/committees/culture-communications-welsh-language-sport-and-international-relations-committee/ ) to ask for an independent review of the situation, on the understanding that if ACW have allegedly deviated from best practice, they will not be best-placed to fairly assess these concerns. While I personally don’t believe this will reverse any previous funding decisions, I hope this record might help facilitate public confidence in a public funding environment that is free from corruption of all kinds, where concerned professionals are able to publicly address both present and historic issues, without fear of jeopardy. Thank you to all those who have entrusted your thoughts and experiences with me. May it not be in vain. Please pass it forward.