Michael Sheen is set to return to London’s West End starring in new production of Amadeus

Michael Sheen attends the press night after party for "Nye" at The National Theatre in July in London. — (Image credit: Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/ via Getty Images)

It feels as though barely a day goes past without some kind of announcement about yet another seriously starry actor getting announced in a West End role – Christine Baranski, Chris Pine, Richard E Grant, David Tennant, Luke Thompson, Jodie Whittaker are just a smattering of celebs taking to some of London’s most historic theatres soon. Now, Michael Sheen is set to join them.

The Welsh star is set to return to his theatre roots, taking on Peter Shaffer’s brilliant drama Amadeus, in a new production that’s set to land in London’s Noel Coward Theatre in spring 2027.

Anyone familiar with the musician or the recent Sky series will be familiar with the whole Mozart / Salieri rivalry, and the play follows the same story of the one-sided rivalry between the brilliant young composer (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) and Antonio Salieri. Salieri was Mozart’s contemporary, and ended up being largely forgotten by history, before the semi-biopic play shot him right back into the musical canon.

an image of the poster for the show showing Callum Scott Howell as Mozart and Michael Sheen as Salieri

If this is ringing any bells, it might be because in 1998, a slightly younger Michael Sheen performed the titular role of the same play at the Old Vic, scoring great reviews and running for an impressive 18 months. He then returned to the play a couple of years ago, during a limited run in Australia, where he played the opposing role of Salieri. Sheen hasn’t been in London’s West End since his performance in Frost/Nixon in 2006.

The news isn’t exactly surprising, as Michael Sheen has been focusing a lot more on theatre recently, starting up his own new Welsh National Theatre company earlier this year. Its inaugural performance was a production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, and further performances have been announced alongside Amadeus, including a new play called Owain & Henry, which will be debuting in Cardiff in November 2026.

Sheen will be reprising his role as Salieri, starring opposite fellow Welsh star Callum Scott Howells (It’s A Sin, Cabaret), who will be playing Mozart. The production is being directed by Jeremy Herrin for the Welsh National Theatre, debuting in Cardiff before transferring to the Noel Coward Theatre for a 16-week run.

Amadeus is running from April 16th until August 7th at the Noel Coward Theatre, with general tickets going on sale on Friday, 24th April.

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Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.

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