Swansea Grand Theatre
In 2011, when Michael Sheen emerged from the fish-freezing waters of Aberavon at the start of National Theatre Wales’s epic The Passion, it felt like the beginning of something special. Port Talbot’s favourite son was back on home soil, leading a triumphant 72-hour, multi-location production staged by the country’s then-new national theatre company, telling the biggest story of all: the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Few could have known at the time that both would come to represent such markedly different futures.
While Sheen’s upward trajectory continued to catapult him towards international superstardom, The Passion marked what might now be seen as a high-water mark for National Theatre Wales. Just over a decade later, the company would slip out of existence with a murmur of ambivalence – only for Sheen to step up once more, committing his own time and money to launch Welsh National Theatre.
Much like The Passion, Thornton Wilder’s Our Town is a play with a message for humanity – though one with far more humble ambitions. Where The Passion grapples directly with the gospels, Our Town concerns itself with the lives of God-fearing people who turn to them for guidance. Set in the fictional American town of Grover’s Corners, we join a community whose seemingly ordinary lives are shaped by the rising of the sun and the passing of the seasons. It’s a simple existence, from cradle to the grave – birth, marriage, death.
Co-produced with Kingston’s Rose Theatre, Welsh National Theatre’s inaugural production is finely directed by Francesca Goodridge with minimal fuss or clutter. The story and the ensemble are what matter here, not the decoration. This is a notably physical production, shaped by movement director Jess Williams, with bodies working collectively to suggest place, labour and the play’s key theme – the turning of time.
Hayley Grindle’s design sees the stage populated with ladders and benches that are continually reconfigured in ingenious ways, the mechanics of the show laid bare for all to see. Dyfan Jones’s music and sound, alongside Ryan Joseph Stafford’s sensitive lighting, add further richness and atmosphere to the production. From sublime sunsets created through illuminated backdrops to stepladders repurposed as coffins, the show’s apparent simplicity proves to be one of its great strengths.
At the centre of it all is the excellent Sheen, clearly relishing the role of the Stage Manager. Part narrator, part ringmaster, he is our guide through Grover’s Corners – welcoming us into the community at the start and, quite literally, turning out the lights at the end. It is an unshowy performance, warm and assured, making the play’s central role seem effortless.
Around him, the ensemble does much of the emotional heavy lifting, perpetuating the cycle of life. In particular, Yasemin Özdemir’s Emily Webb and Peter Devlin’s George Gibbs, the awkward young couple at the beating heart of the production, learn – too late – just how precious time can be. Alongside them, familiar Welsh faces including Rhodri Meilir and Sian Reese-Williams add weight to the ensemble, with Gareth Snook impressing in the dual roles of Professor Willard and Joe Stoddard.
As Swansea’s own Dylan Thomas wrote in Under Milk Wood – a play for voices which shares more than a passing resemblance to Our Town – “Time passes. Listen.” That sense of time passing is crucial here. Acts are divided by life stages rather than plot points, with the final act confronting the inevitable ending that awaits us all. In an almost Dickensian turn, the supernatural is used to articulate what the living so often take for granted – the precariousness of living each second while we can.
The one element that risks causing a headache if you think too long about it is the setting. As the first production from a Welsh company, Wales is very much front and centre – the accents are Welsh, as are the place names, with much of the action taking place on the Stryd Fawr. And yet we are still, technically, in New Hampshire, where the corn grows high and the trains hurtle past en route to Boston. It is, effectively, a slice of south Wales transposed across the Atlantic – something that works perfectly well during the performance, even if it makes little sense in the cold light of the foyer.
As a statement of intent from Welsh National Theatre, Our Town is wonderfully rich and rewarding – a joyful celebration of the fleetingness of existence. It prioritises storytelling over spectacle and, looking ahead, promises more exciting projects on the horizon. Following the recent revival of Matthew Rhys’s Burton and the large-scale historical drama Owain & Henry heading to Wales Millennium Centre later this year, the future looks bright. Be sure to make the most of every moment of it.
Swansea Grand Theatre
Fri 16 – Sat 31 Jan 2026
Swansea, Wales
Venue Cymru
Tues 3 – Sat 7 Feb 2026
Llandudno, Wales
Theatr Clwyd
Weds 11 – Sat 21 Feb 2026
Mold, Wales
Rose Theatre
Thursday 26 Feb –
Sat 28 Mar 2026
Kingston-upon-Thames, London