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OUR TOWN TO STREAM ON NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME
Welsh National Theatre’s 2026 Our Town will be available for streaming on National Theatre at Home from August 4.
Directed by Francesca Goodridge, Michael Sheen leads an all-Welsh cast in the inaugural production of this new theater company. It was tremendously well received by critics and audiences alike. As Sarah Hemming wrote in her review in the Financial Times: “The new Welsh National Theatre springs into life with a joyous, tender, Welsh-inflected staging of Thornton Wilder’s 1938 classic: a play that urges you to cherish the fleeting moments of everyday life and foregrounds the role of art in framing that message. Propelled to the stage by the galvanising energy of artistic director Michael Sheen and directed by Francesca Goodridge, this vibrant ensemble production of Our Town is a celebration not just of communality but of the way theatre can create a transient community of its own. This is a cracking statement of intent for a new national theatre.”
Photos by Helen Murray.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
Keith Randolph Smith as the Stage Manager in Miami New Drama’s 2017 multilingual production directed by Michel Hausmann. Photo by Stian Roenning [Click to Enlarge]
About Our Town
The 2022 production at Dallas Theater Center, directed by Tatiana Pandiani. Photo by Imani Thomas.
Our Town explores the relationship between two young Grover’s Corners neighbors, George Gibbs and Emily Webb, whose childhood friendship blossoms into romance, and then culminates in marriage. When Emily loses her life in childbirth, the circle of life portrayed in each of the three acts of Our Town–growing up, adulthood, and death–is fully realized.
Wilder offers a couple of chairs on a bare stage as the backdrop for an exploration of the universal human experience. The simple story of a love affair is constantly rediscovered because it asks timeless questions about the meaning of love, life and death. In the final moments of the play, the recently deceased Emily is granted the opportunity to revisit one day in her life, only to discover that she never fully appreciated all she possessed until she lost it. “Oh, earth, you’re too wonderful for anybody to realize you,” she says as she takes her place among the dead.
AMERICAN CLASSIC ON MGM+
“Take the effort to find, and watch, American Classic. It'll remind you why, when it's this good, it's easy to love the theater. And television.” - David Bianculli, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, NPR
American Classic, a sharp new comedy series now streaming on MGM+ starring Kevin Kline, Laura Linney, Tony Shalhoub, Jane Alexander, and Our Town. The show follows a celebrated Broadway star (Kline) who retreats to his hometown after a spectacular public meltdown, only to discover his family’s beloved theater is on the brink of collapse. Determined to revive its former glory, he sets out to stage the quintessential American play, Our Town, sparking plenty of drama on stage and off. The series reveals a portrait of a lovable, deeply flawed family and the transformative power of making art together. American Classic comes from co-creators Michael Hoffman (Soapdish) and Bob Martin (Slings and Arrows).
Our Town Videos
License Our Town
Amateur Productions in the USA, Puerto Rico and Commonwealth Countries:
Concord Theatricals
All Professional Productions; Amateur Productions outside the USA and Commonwealth Countries:
Alan Brodie Representation Ltd.
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Thornton Wilder Instagram (@thorntonnwilder)
