Our Town
- Richard Evans
- 3 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Thornton Wilder
Welsh National Theatre and Rose Theatre
Venue Cymru, Llandudno
February 3-7, 2026; 2hrs 20 mins
(also at Theatr Clwyd, Mold, February 11-21 - sold out)
Michael Sheen describes Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winning Our Town as "Life, Love and Community".
This is the first major production of the new Swansea-based Welsh National Theatre, which has been instigated by Sheen to encourage, foster and promote Welsh theatrical talent. It is intended to complement the Welsh language equivalent, Theatr Cymru, and to pick up on the rich tradition in storytelling in Welsh culture. Full marks to the actor and company artistic director for returning to his roots, given his immense success in the film and television industry.
Sheen suggests Wilder's work celebrates the connection between the commonplace and the cosmic nature of human experience. His assertion that these themes are important to Welsh identity is accurate, but there is more to this play than a purely earthly dimension - and therein lies its beauty.
The play opens with a stage manager, played with animation and reflection by Sheen himself, speaking directly to the audience and introducing the characters and nature of a small, fairly insignificant New Hampshire village. The first act sees the people of the village go about a normal day, and gives us a glimpse of a burgeoning relationship between two teenagers, George Gibbs (Peter Devlin) and Emily Webb (Yasemin Ozdemir). The second act has these teens marrying, and after the interval we see the conclusion and an exploration of the richness of human life and existence in this supposedly small town.
The set is very simple, with no scenery, just some movable props used with great imagination in a fluid, choreographed way, giving phase and change to the action and breaking up the dialogue on which the play is heavily dependent. This allows the absorbing nature of the script to capture our attention. There is a definite sense of a strong team ethic among the large cast, but Devlin and Ozdemir develop their characters really well and never fail to attract focus.
When first produced, Our Town must have been groundbreaking. The play leaves the fourth wall in tatters. The stage manager addresses the audience throughout, as do other characters, and in this production players also enter the auditorium to deliver their lines, which again shows creativity and imagination.
It seems slightly odd that the WNT should pick an American classic as its first major production, but there is so much in this profound play that resonates with human experience. Once a Welsh twist is added - a bit of Welsh language here, a few place name changes there - the choice is revealed as a good one. It is gentle, whimsical, has a nice touch of humour and a rare quality of reflection on the eternal questions that trouble us all from time to time.
It turns out this piece of Americana is a great production for the new company, and given the full auditorium and deserved standing ovation, the audience agrees.
More info and tickets here
