Review: 'Our Town' starring Michael Sheen at the Rose Theatre Kingston

"Francesca Goodridge's production does Welshify a few details: a couple of incidental place name changes, a couple of hymns. But for the most part the difference is that every cast member not only has a chunky Welsh accent - as the omniscient Stage Manager, Sheen finds a whole new layer of fruitiness in his Rs - but there's also a warmth and heartiness to their deliveries that softens (and maybe sentimentalises) a strange play that's often intentionally served up cold and dry."

"Amping up the boisterous charm does feel like it changes : it conceals the cerebral weirdness at its heart. But if it loses a little something in the head, it gains a little something in the heart. And Sheen is a delightful centre to it all, leaning into his status as the nation's favourite twinkly-eyed uncle and just doing a generally spectacular job of pronouncing 'Grover's Corners' as if it were some centuries old Welsh word."

Michael Sheen's Welsh National Theatre presents a Welsh-inflected production of Thornton Wilder's 'Our Town,' traditionally an American play set in New Hampshire. Director Francesca Goodridge adapts the work by incorporating Welsh accents, hymns, and a warmer delivery style that contrasts with the play's typically cold, cerebral presentation. Sheen performs as the Stage Manager with comedic flair, pronouncing place names with exaggerated Welsh phonetics. The production uses dynamic staging with wooden props and movement rather than the traditional bare stage. While this approach softens the play's intentional strangeness and philosophical distance, it gains emotional depth and heartfelt connection. The cast's warmth and charm create an avuncular atmosphere that sentimentalizes the story of Emily Webb and George Gibbs' courtship and wedding, offering audiences a more emotionally engaging experience than conventional interpretations.

Read at Time Out London