Playing Burton

One of Wales' most renowned actors, Emmy Award-winner Matthew Rhys, returns to the Welsh stage for the first time in 22 years in Playing Burton, an acclaimed one-man play about international star Richard Burton.

Written by Mark Jenkins and directed by Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher, Playing Burton offers an intimate and penetrating portrait of Richard Burton, the boy from South Wales who became one of the greatest performers of his generation. The play captures the sweep of his extraordinary life, from a childhood in an impoverished mining community of the South Wales Valleys to the dazzling heights of Broadway and Hollywood.

With wit, candour and raw honesty, Playing Burton reflects on the highs and lows of Burton's remarkable journey. His passionate and tempestuous love affair with Elizabeth Taylor, his troubled relationship with alcohol, and his struggle to balance fame, ambition and identity are explored in a voice that feels as if the actor himself were back on stage. It is a powerful, soulful piece of theatre that celebrates not only Burton's genius but also the complexity of the man behind the legend.

Rhys has spoken often about Burton's profound influence on him: "The reason I wanted to act was because of Richard Burton. Since first seeing his incredible performance in Look Back in Anger to still listening to his audio of Hamlet and Under Milk Wood. He blazed the trail for us all and showed us it was possible."

Presented during the Richard Burton centenary year, this production stands as a fitting tribute to one of Wales' greatest cultural figures.

Playing Burton is presented as a fundraising event for Welsh National Theatre to support the company's inaugural season in 2026.