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 in Playing Burton.
Rhys will star in acclaimed one-man drama Playing Burton, which is being revived to mark the centenary of Richard Burton’s birth, and to raise funds for Michael Sheen’s new Welsh National Theatre.
Playing Burton will run at The Old Vic on Sunday 16 November 2025 for two performances.
The play is written by Mark Jenkins, and directed by Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher (Kiss Me, Kate; My Fair Lady).
Playing Burton is 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.
The Old Vic has many ties to Richard Burton’s early success, with Burton having joined the Old Vic Theatre Company in 1949. 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.
Playing Burton is part of this year’s Richard Burton celebrations marking the centenary since his birth, culminating with a performance of Playing Burton in Bethel Chapel Café in Burton’s birthplace of Pontrhydyfen on 26 November. The play will also visit Cardigan, Wrexham, Cardiff, Aberystwyth, Bangor, and Swansea (see dates, below).
Cardiff-born Matthew 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.
His previous London theatre credits include Cardiff East and The Associate at the National Theatre, Grace Note at The Old Vic, One More Wasted Year at the Royal Court, The Graduate at the Gielgud Theatre, and Macbeth at The Young Vic.
Rhys’s last stage appearance was in 2012, in Look Back in Anger at the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York.
Matthew Rhys’s next screen role is in Netflix’s The Beast in Me alongside Claire Danes.
Welsh National Theatre announced its inaugural season back in April, including Michael Sheen as Owain Glyndŵr, the last Welsh-born Prince of Wales, in Owain & Henry; and a new production of Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Our Town, presented in an intimate Welsh setting, starring Sheen.
Playing Burton is produced by Welsh National Theatre’s Maris Lyons, Anna Cook, Llinos Neale and Sharon Gilburd.
Book tickets to Playing Burton at The Old Vic in London
What They Said
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.”
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 Note 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, artistic director of Welsh National Theatre, 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.”
Playing Burton – Tour Dates 2026
Sun 16 November (matinee & evening)
The Old Vic, London – Book now >
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
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