Bad Wolf bites first with inaugural investment into Welsh National Theatre

Partnership with production company set to develop new writers and creative talent

TV production company Bad Wolf has become the first private sector investor to partner with the new Welsh National Theatre.

Founded by Michael Sheen earlier this year, the company is exploring multiple options to realise its vision to create large-scale plays to resonate in Wales and across the world.

Now the Cardiff-based production company behind Welsh-shot shows including Industry, His Dark Materials and Doctor Who is partnering with the theatre to develop the next generation of writing talent for stage and screen in Wales.

Bad Wolf’s investment will offer seed funding to commission writers and theatre makers with bold ideas to develop Welsh stories which could play on the biggest stages in the world or be developed into screen content.

Michael Sheen, artistic director of Welsh National Theatre, said: “Just a few months into being, we’ve announced our first large-scale productions- Our Town and Owain & Henry made our home in Swansea and taken the first steps to establishing our talent development pathways with this new partnership.  Bad Wolf has proven stories and talent from Wales can enthral the world; that’s what we’re aiming to do with Welsh National Theatre.”

Tim Price, literary manager of Welsh National Theatre, said: “We want Wales’ writers to think big and write boldly. We want stories that will reach the biggest audiences and that means our writers have to start thinking commercially. The Bad Wolf seed commissions will help buy the writers’ time to incubate their big idea and grow it into something worthy of a full commission. This new partnership is just one of the many ways we want to engage with the next generation of storytellers.”

Sharon Gilburd, founding chief executive of Welsh National Theatre, added: “The ambition for Welsh National Theatre is to build a company which offers real value to partners from both the public and private sector. Bad Wolf being our first private sector partner brings prestige, scale and a shared vision to take stories from Wales to a global audience.”

The partnership with Welsh National Theatre is the latest initiative from Bad Wolf to support the ecosystem development of the creative industries in Wales. Screen Alliance Wales, based at Wolf Studios Wales, is its not-for-profit training arm created to educate, promote and train production crews and build infrastructure. Earlier this year, its Blaidd Writers Programme announced four screenwriters in its inaugural programme. In 2021 Sony Picture Television took a majority stake in Bad Wolf to fund its next phase of development.

Jane Tranter, CEO Bad Wolf, said: “The ambition and scale of the Welsh National Theatre is testament to Michael Sheen’s vision and commitment to the Arts. A strong creative community in Wales benefits all of us and in the ten years since the birth of Bad Wolf we have seen the Creative Industries grow and flourish despite  challenging times.  We are proud to support such a bold and exciting venture.”

Michael Sheen will be in conversation with Jane Tranter on stage at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Tuesday 19 August 2025.

Welsh National Theatre’s first production, Our Town, will star Sheen and plays the Swansea Grand Theatre (Friday 16 January-Saturday 31 January 2026), Venue Cymru in Llandudno (Tuesday 3 February-Saturday 7 February 2026), Theatr Clwyd in Mold (Wednesday 11 February-Saturday 21 February 2026) and the Rose Theatre, Kingston-upon-Thames (Thursday 26 February-28 March 2026). Tickets for all dates are on sale now.

Sheen will then play Owain Glyndŵr in Gary Owen’s epic new play, Owain & Henry, in a Welsh National Theatre and Wales Millennium Centre co-production in November 2026.