The production marks the first major West End run for a Welsh national theatre company, according to multiple reports. Sheen, who is artistic director of Welsh National Theatre, previously played Mozart in the late 1990s in London and on Broadway, and later played Salieri at Sydney Opera House in 2022. Welsh National Theatre was established by Sheen in 2025 with his own money, sources said.
Callum Scott Howells, who won the Bafta Cymru for best actor in 2021 for his role in It's a Sin, will play Mozart. The production is directed by Jeremy Herrin and is a co-production between Second Half Productions and Welsh National Theatre. Tickets go on general sale on 24 April.
To play Salieri opposite a fellow Welshman as Mozart - a role that has meant so much to me - feels very special indeed.
"To play Salieri opposite a fellow Welshman as Mozart - a role that has meant so much to me - feels very special indeed," Sheen said at a press conference. "I directed Callum in my television drama The Way - he's an extraordinary talent who deserves this stage and audiences should be excited for what's to come." Howells described the opportunity as "a dream come true." Herrin said: "I am delighted to be working on this legendary and beloved play with Michael, who I consider one of the world's best."
The play is set in Vienna in 1820 and follows Salieri's rivalry with Mozart.
I directed Callum in my television drama The Way - he's an extraordinary talent who deserves this stage and audiences should be excited for what's to come.
It's a dream come true.