Emmy Award winner Matthew Rhys is set to return to the London stage for the first time in 21 years to play Richard Burton at The Old Vic. The iconic venue has ties to the late star’s early success and has been added as an extra date (Sunday 16 November) to the Welsh run of Playing Burton to meet popular demand.
The acclaimed one-man play is being revived to mark the centenary since Richard Burton’s birth, raising funds for Michael Sheen’s new Welsh National Theatre.
Written by Mark Jenkins, directed by Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher, produced by Welsh National Theatre’s team of Maris Lyons, Anna Cook, Llinos Neale and Sharon Gilburd, Playing Burton offers a penetrating look at the actor’s life, from his impoverished South Wales beginnings to his rise as one of the greatest performers of his generation. Charting his passionate love affair with Elizabeth Taylor and his very public struggle with alcoholism, the play is a soulful exploration of fame, ambition, and identity.
Burton joined the Old Vic Theatre Company in 1949, a training ground for serious stage actors before the National Theatre was established. Throughout the 1950s he played several notable roles with the Old Vic Theatre Company, including a starring role in Hamlet, taking the Port Talbot born star to stages in New York, Canada and beyond, helping cement his reputation as one of the leading talents of his generation.
The Old Vic played an equally important role in making theatre accessible back in South Wales. When the Blitz forced the London theatre to shutter its doors in 1940, rather than bringing things to a halt the company decided to hit the road, taking classical theatre to mining communities in South Wales.
Sharon Gilburd, chief executive of Welsh National Theatre said: “We always knew we had something really special on our hands with this production and the response from audiences has confirmed it. The Old Vic is hugely special to Wales, Matthew and Michael so to bring this show to London to raise funds for Welsh National Theatre is a night not to miss. Matthew has been so generous throughout and we can’t thank him enough – it’s a privilege to be working with him.”
Playing Burton comes as RB100 – the Richard Burton celebrations marking the centenary since the iconic actor’s birth – culminates with a performance in Bethel Chapel Café in Burton’s birthplace of Pontrhydyfen on the 26th of November.
Cardiff-born Rhys, who won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama series for his role in The Americans in 2018, has been rehearsing the role at his home in New York.
Matthew Rhys said: “Michael Sheen has been putting all us Welsh actors to shame by setting up Welsh National Theatre so, when a space appeared in my schedule, I felt it was my time to step up!
“The Old Vic meant a lot to Burton’s early days, as it did to mine, playing Nick in Samuel Adamson’s Grace Notes there in 1997. It’s going to be really something to be back on that stage, playing an actor who ignited my love for the craft.
“When Covid hit, I prepared a production of Playing Burton but have never had the chance to perform it on stage. With 2025 being both Burton’s centenary year and the first year of the Welsh National Theatre, it felt right to return to the London and Welsh stage for the first time in 20-plus years.
“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.”
Michael Sheen said: “Matthew got in touch with me to say he had a window in his diary so how could he help Welsh National Theatre. What started with a simple message has turned into a tour where people across our country can see one of our greatest actors play one of our greatest actors, all in the year of Richard Burton’s centenary.
“One of the first things I did when we started WNT was to visit theatres up and down Wales, so it feels special to be able to take this show to stages in lots of communities and to now add a London date at The Old Vic, the theatre that played such a role in Richard Burton’s stage career. The whole thing has a special kind of serendipity and is exactly what we wanted to unlock with Welsh National Theatre.”
Tickets to see Matthew Rhys in Playing Burton in London are on sale now and will be available from Welsh National Theatre with all funds going to support the new company.
- Sun 16 November, The Old Vic, London – Two performances, a matinee and evening performance
- Mon 17 November – Mwldan Arts Centre, Cardigan – Sold out
- Tue 18 November – William Aston Hall, Wrexham – Limited availability
- Fri 21 November- Reardon Smith Theatre, National Museum for Wales, Cardiff (with special Q & A between Michael Sheen and Matthew Rhys)- Limited availability
- Sat 22 November- Theatr y Werin, Aberystwyth Arts Centre – Sold out
- Sun 23 November- Pontio, Bangor– Limited availability
- Mon 24 & Tue 25 November- Swansea Grand Theatre – Sold out
- Tue 25 November – In Conversation with Michael Sheen and Matthew Rhys – Limited availability
- Wed 26 November- Bethel Chapel Café, Pontrhydyfen – invitation only
