Review of ‘Our Town’ (2026, Rose Theatre): “Michael Sheen’s triumphant performance makes him Kingston’s honorary citizen”

The Rose Theatre welcomes this new adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s existential play, featuring a star-led cast under Francesca Goodridge’s direction. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show to let us know if this touring production is either going to town or crying to be banished.

It’s still set in America, but everyone has a Welsh accent. Some may find that confusing. In fact, it is. And yet, it makes absolute sense to give that level of proximity to a play where nothing really happens apart from the mundanity of a common little village life. That’s one of the many brilliant aspects of this latest revival of Our Town, a highly anticipated production starring Michael Sheen, which has just set foot on the Kingston’s Rose Theatre following its initial Welsh National Theatre run.

All the piece’s distinctive elements have been preserved. There’s still a metatheatrical framework, where an exquisite Michael Sheen serves as both an outer raconteur and several internal characters. Bundled up in a dark coat and a fedora hat, he walks up the stalls aisle as he approaches the ghostlight on a seemingly dormant stage. There’s an air of mystique to the whole thing. And as he utters the opening words, the production’s visual magic starts to unfold.

Minimum sets, as tradition requires, and all of them handled with utmost creativity and theatricality. A couple of cornstalks, platform ladders, chairs, tables, and a few large wooden boards build the entire set. There’s no feeling of shortcoming to it. Such simplicity is, in fact, its greater strength. All the props are utilised with extraordinary versatility, painting vivid pictures that brim with dynamism and whimsicality.

It’s a fine example of what theatre and only theatre can do. Its sense of duality works on so many levels. On the one side, there’s the “play within the play” approach. The actors play actors. And at the same time, those actors portray characters. Similarly, the props play props. And in turn, those props portray other aspects of reality. It strips the art form to its purest essence. And concomitantly, it celebrates it as its most magnificent feature. The result is just magnetic.

Simultaneously, the staging mirrors the personages’ inner journey. Ryan Joseph Stafford’s carefully confected lighting is, in many ways, solely responsible for that additional layer. Simple palettes construct highly impactful atmospheres, where aesthetics and subtext are evenly combined. The saturated warms from the beginning, a time of innocence and ingenuity, evolve into colder pastels that align with the protagonists’ maturation, and ultimately, they morph into the eerie, colourless beams that accompany the plot’s tragic ending.

Nothing exceptional ever occurs throughout the story. It’s an ordinary tale about ordinary people, with nothing extraordinary to them or to what they encounter, other than the usual struggles everyone must face in life, some way or another. That is what makes it so unique. Not the fact that there’s no outstanding conflict, but how Thornton Wilder’s take on it can turn an otherwise banal recount into a crucible of poignancy and life wisdom.

All the characters feel as authentic as the people next door. And what happens to them is what could happen and will happen to anyone. Nothing special about them. Nothing remarkable. And yet, all we can do is care deeply for their cause and see ourselves reflected in their joy and suffering.

A brilliant direction has also led to a tour de force execution by the whole company. Michael Sheen delivers an impeccable rendition. His command of the role is defined by compelling presence and ample ease. The exact same praise goes to the rest of the cast, whose performances teem with genuineness and profundity in their overall naturalistic take, with special mentions to Peter Devlin as George Gibbs, Sian Reese-Williams as Mrs Gibbs, and Nia Roberts as Mrs Webb.

Not everyone will be fond of a show with so little action in it. And those unacquainted with this classic should be aware of its marmite appeal. However, it’s difficult to resist the introspective charm of a 1930s piece that resonates as loudly now as it probably did when it first premiered. You may find it stagnant at some points. Perhaps, too many — but even so, this show is as much their town as it is ours, and everyone’s.

All pictures credit to Helen Murray.

Our Town plays at Kingston’s Rose Theatre until 28 March. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara