CHRISTIAN Patterson, is one of the most recognisable and best loved faces on Theatr Clwyd's stages.

As an actor he's starred as Mr Boo in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice and played Cymru in the National Theatre's Brexit-inspired drama My Country. Later this year he'll be writing his second pantomime for the Mold-based theatre with Jack and the Beanstalk - following last year's smash hit, Dick Whittington. Not a man to rest on his laurels, Christian has also written hit pantomimes for other UK theatres and won the best script accolade at the Great British Panto Awards.

"It's nice to have a break and talk to you," laughs Christian, who is currently performing in Arthur Miller's The American Plot at the Old Vic in London. "During the day I'm heading over to Brixton to do day rehearsals of Wave Me Goodbye, so I'm looking forward to having just the one job soon and heading up to North Wales."

The reason for Christian returning to his homeland is the world premiere of Jacqueline Wilson's Wave Me Goodbye, which has been adapted for the stage by award-winning Wrexham playwright Emma Reeves. The play marks Christian's first time directing a production for Theatr Clwyd, where the actor is very proud to be an associate.

"Even though I don't live in North Wales I've been working there since 1997 and it feels like a homecoming for me every time I come back," he says. "I've done a tremendous amount of plays there as well as writing and now directing. They have given me money-can't-buy opportunities and experiences and I carry my association with that building wherever I go.

"It's written in my biog in every show I do and sometimes it gets taken out because it isn't the house style but I always insist it goes back in - it is something I'm really proud of."

Jacqueline Wilson is of course one of Britain's most popular authors, selling more than 38 million books in the UK alone. Her most successful and enduring creation is the Tracy Beaker series and from 2005 to 2007 she was the Children's Laureate. In Wave Me Goodbye she tells the story of 10-year-old Shirley, who is evacuated at the start of the Second World War and billeted in the countryside to live with reclusive Mrs Waverly.

"We've changed it so that Shirley goes from Liverpool to North Wales to make it more relevant to the area," explains Christian. "It is a huge responsibility because Jacqueline is a writer who is adored by millions of people, so you have to be quite honourable to how she's written it. Luckily it has had her seal of approval and it's no surprise because Emma [Reeves] has done a remarkable job adapting it."

Back in the days following the EU referendum, a team from the National Theatre of Great Britain spoke to people nationwide, aged nine to 97, to hear their views on the UK. These real life testimonials were then interwoven with speeches from party leaders of the time in a new play by Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, called My Country; a work in progress which tried its best to make sense of Brexit. Christian took on the role of 'Cymru' as he joined Caledonia, East Midlands, North East, Northern Ireland and the South West in bringing the voices of their regions to life.

"It's two years down the line now and if we did that play now it would still have the same reverberations," he laughs. "Everything is stuck in this jelly-like form and there's no moving forwards or backwards, just standing still. It's a weird world to live in at the moment and if Theresa May does step down we could end up with someone like Michael Gove or Boris Johnson, God forbid.

"It's a massive concern for theatre because I think the Government see it as a luxury item, when for me it is absolutely vital because it is entertaining and educational and now we are so locked into technology, theatre gives us a chance to get out and see life. I'm 47 now and I've devoted more than half my life to it and when I see the regular faces at Theatr Clwyd it is a real buzz, especially if I see them bringing someone new with them.

"Tomorrow's audience are our children which is why something like Wave Me Goodbye is so important: if we get it right and children really enjoy it they are going to be tomorrow's audience."

Wave Me Goodbye by Jacqueline Wilson and adapted by Emma Reeves is at Theatr Clwyd, Mold, from April 23-May 4, 2019. For more information and tickets visit www.theatrclwyd.com