There are many stories about heroes from English, Scottish, and Irish history, but fewer that focus on Welsh figures. This autumn, a new major play about Owain Glyndŵr, a Welsh nobleman who led a rebellion against the English crown in the early 15th century, will be performed. The play, titled Owain & Henry, will be staged at the Donald Gordon theatre in the Wales Millennium Centre, one of Europe’s largest stages, by Michael Sheen’s new theatre company, the Welsh National Theatre. Sheen, who will play Glyndŵr, said the play is significant because it is the first time the rebel leader’s story has been presented on such a large scale. “He was voted the second most important Welsh person of all time, only behind Aneurin Bevan,” Sheen said. “But nobody has ever done anything about him on this scale before. That tells a story in itself.” Sheen noted that he wasn’t taught about Glyndŵr’s rebellion during his school years in south Wales. “He meant absolutely nothing to me. I was never taught about him. He’s in the cultural collective consciousness, so at some point I became aware of his name, but I knew nothing about his story,” he said. “I was never taught Welsh history. It wasn’t on the curriculum. And again, that tells you something.” Sheen also highlighted the challenges Welsh playwrights face in creating large-scale productions. “For most Welsh playwrights, the reality of getting your play produced is that you probably have to write for a studio space. Maybe a couple of weeks’ run. And maybe a cast of maybe two or three. Beyond that, it becomes very difficult.” The playwright, Gary Owen, who has won an Olivier award, said he only felt free to create a sweeping version of Glyndŵr’s story during the pandemic, when he thought the play might never be performed. “During Covid, during the lockdown, he thought, no one’s going to ever see this play anyway, so I might as well write it the way I want to write it,” Sheen said. He described Glyndŵr as an unlikely rebel. “He was born into privilege. He inherited estates. He worked in the service of English noblemen. Fought on behalf of the English king, Richard II, in Scotland. Fought against the French. He was taught at the Inns of Court. But then he got into a land dispute with his neighbour [the Englishman Reginald de Grey]. And this land dispute grew and grew and grew until eventually he was essentially being called a traitor. He wasn’t the big crusading rebel leader. He found himself in a position where he had to fight back, otherwise really bad things were going to happen for him and his family. So he was sort of forced into it.” Sheen said he believed the story of Owain Glyndŵr, which will be performed in English, is relevant today. “Just putting it on is important, I think, but also the story is a kind of catalyst for a conversation that we very much need to have at the moment.” Earlier this year, the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru won the Welsh Senedd elections in spectacular fashion, ending 100 years of Labour rule in Wales. It means that two governments – the devolved Plaid Welsh administration and the Labour UK government – have a say in the life of Welsh citizens. Sheen said, “The old has been swept away. And the immediate future of Wales is essentially in the hands of two very different visions of what it is to be Welsh, what Welsh identity is, what Welsh nationhood can be. This play speaks to that absolutely. Even though we’re talking about events in the early 1400s, it speaks to us right now in a more urgent way than I could ever have imagined.” Sheen added that the play also raises broader questions about leadership and power, which feel particularly relevant today. He said he hopes Welsh ministers will come to see the play, as it is not aligned with any political party but focuses on values and beliefs. “It’ll ask a lot of questions. This is not in any way a sort of cloaked support for any particular party. It’s about values and beliefs, but they’ll come and watch it.”