Nigel Barrett steps in as Henry IV opposite Michael Sheen in Owain & Henry at Wales Millennium Centre, after Linus Roache withdrew from the production through illness.
Nigel Barrett has taken over as King Henry IV in Owain & Henry at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, replacing Linus Roache, who has left the production because of illness. Barrett now plays opposite Michael Sheen, who leads the company as Owain Glyndŵr and co-directs the play with Steffan Donnelly.
The change lands in the show's opening week. Previews began in the Donald Gordon Theatre on 5 November and run to 10 November, and the production plays until 28 November 2026. WhatsOnStage reports that the venue confirmed the news in a statement: “Sadly, Linus Roache has had to step away from Owain & Henry due to illness. Celebrated actor Nigel Barrett will take over the role of Henry from now on.” It added: “We want to say a huge thank you to Linus for his time and work on the show, and we send our best wishes for a speedy recovery.”
Barrett arrives with a Stage Award for Best Actor and a Samuel Beckett Theatre Award to his name, and with Royal Shakespeare Company work that includes Hamnet and Julius Caesar.
The new play is by Gary Owen, the Olivier Award-winning Welsh writer of Iphigenia in Splott. It goes back to 1400, when Henry IV brands Glyndŵr, lord of a small territory in the north of Wales, an outlaw. Glyndŵr answers with a rebellion that spreads across the border and leaves the king fighting to hold on to his crown. The production is a co-production between Wales Millennium Centre and Welsh National Theatre, and Michael Sheen's movement for change, Mab Gwalia, is using it to create associate and assistant roles for Welsh artists.
Around Sheen and Barrett, Rakie Ayola plays Owain's wife, Mared Ferch Dafydd, and Emily Burnett their daughter, Catrin Ferch Owain. Sophie Melville is Lois, Ned Costello is Hal, Brendan Charleson is Percy and Sion Tudor Owen is Sir John Falstaff, with Gruffudd Glyn as Bryn, Ian Hughes as Baron Reginald Grey, David Judge as Hotspur, Richard Lynch as Rhys and James Wilbraham as Mortimer. Lizzie Caitlin Bennett, Beau Bradfield, Harrison Claxton, Caitlin Drake, Mirain Fflur, Orla Hardie, Aisha-May Hunte, Corey Mitchell, Jamie Morgan, Luke Rhodri and Joseph Tweedale complete the company.
Behind the scenes, Jon Bausor designs the set, with Matt Hellyer as associate set designer. Lighting is by Aideen Malone (associate Cara Hood), costumes by Elin Steele, and music and sound by Dyfan Jones. Jack Phelan is video designer, assisted by Livi Wilmore; Anthony Matesena directs movement; Ruth Cooper-Brown is fight and intimacy director, with Rebecca Wilson as assistant fight director; and Nia Lynn is voice director. Hannah Noone is associate director, Hannah Marie Williams cast the show and Kate Ferris is executive producer.
The Cardiff run is also being filmed for National Theatre at Home, which will stream the capture worldwide from 1 March 2027.
For more information, visit the official website.
