MICHAEL SHEEN, PORT TALBOT AND THE NATIONAL THEATRE WALES

That this House congratulates Michael Sheen, his co-director Bill Mitchell of Wildworks, the writer Owen Sheers and the people of Port Talbot in the constituency of Aberavon on the spectacular success of the open-air performance of The Passion; recognises that the play was inspired by the pride Michael Sheen has always revealed in his local community; endorses the faith shown by Arts Council Wales in creating National Theatre Wales; acknowledges that his play has drawn on the lives of the people of Port Talbot and on their remarkable talents; welcomes the renewed sense of pride in the town's unique industrial and cultural history; and notes that the positive image of the community conveyed across the world signals a re-awakening of self-confidence in the future of the town.