Playing Burton

by Mark Jenkins, Matthew Rhys (Narrator)

Emmy Award winner Matthew Rhys stars in this fascinating and award-winning one-man show about international star of stage and screen Richard Burton. Written by Mark Jenkins, Playing Burton offers a penetrating look at the notorious actor’s life, from growing up in an impoverished mining community in South Wales to becoming one of the greatest performers of his generation. Following his passionate, though tempestuous, love affair with Elizabeth Taylor and his tragic—and very public—battle with alcoholism, Playing Burton is a soulful exploration of fame, ambition, and identity told from the perspective of the megastar who experienced it all.

Please Note: Playing Burton contains adult language and themes.

Genres: Audiobook, Biography, Plays, Nonfiction, Memoir

Audible Audio

Published January 28, 2021

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Alan (on December semi-hiatus) Teder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burton Comes Alive
Review of the Audible Original audiobook edition (2021) of the 0riginal stage play (1991)

This is an extraordinary audio production of the Mark Jenkins biographical stage-play with actor Matthew Rhys performing a spot on impersonation of the voice of iconic actor Richard Burton (1925-1984). The piece proceeds in roughly chronological order from Burton's upbringing in a Welsh coal mining town through his stage and film roles, various marriages and finally his death at a fairly early age likely brought on by his smoking and drinking problems.

The play quotes extensively from Burton's own interviews and excerpts from his roles, which seem to be selected for their commentary or crossover with the actor's personal life. These include one paraphrased from John le Carré's The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1963) from which Burton did a film adaptation in 1965:

"What do you think spies are: priests, saints, and martyrs? They’re a squalid procession of vain fools, traitors too, yes; pansies, sadists, and drunkards, people who play cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten lives. Do you think they sit like monks in London balancing the rights and wrongs? I’d have killed Mundt if I could, I hate his guts; but not now. It so happens that they need him. They need him so that the great
moronic mass that you admire can sleep soundly in their beds at night. They need him for the safety of ordinary, crummy people like you and me.”
After films like that, its nice to get back to ... sanity.

The production of this was excellent with subtle foley sound effects throughout, and Rhys' marvelous performance which included occasional other impersonations such as John Gielgud and Winston Churchill as well.

Trivia and Links
Playing Burton was adapted into a film version in 2011, directed by Wyndham Price with Joshua Richards in the title role.

The cover image for the Audible Original audiobook is a cropped film still of Richard Burton from the World War Two film The Longest Day (1962).

Image sourced from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lon...

[Terri R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew Rhys brings Richard Burton to life so well you’ll forget it is not Burton himself. Not a happy ending, of course, but he was a fascinating human being. Some of the interspersed bits from parts Burton performed through his life made for slightly rough transitions at times, which may require several “readings” to absorb fully. I would prefer this “radio play” to any filmed version because it allowed me to picture Burton in my mind’s eye.

[Ursula Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a play about the life of actor Richard Burton. Matthew Rhys portrayed him handily, and the accents were spot on. A touching look back into family dynamics, career and friends, it was entertaining.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free | Very good for awhile, then deeply deeply boring. | I just can't find the portion representing Burton's alcoholic period enjoyable or interesting. The rest was quite good and Rhys does Burton well.

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well produced recording of a one man play rather than an audiobook, but it was excellently performed and (five star performance) and interesting to me as a fan of Richard Burton’s work.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Playing Burton was an outstanding production of the one-person play "Playing Burton".

The play itself is more moving than I expected, as I wasn't a particular fan of Richard Burton. The heartbreaking stories from parts of his life coupled with an incredible performance by Matthew Rhys were filled with emotions, of all types, and made this play into a sometimes comedic, often tragic biography/memoir of the highlights of the actor's life.

The audible.com description sums it up well:
"Written by Mark Jenkins, Playing Burton offers a penetrating look at the notorious actor’s life, from growing up in an impoverished mining community in South Wales to becoming one of the greatest performers of his generation. Following his passionate, though tempestuous, love affair with Elizabeth Taylor and his tragic—and very public—battle with alcoholism, Playing Burton is a soulful exploration of fame, ambition, and identity told from the perspective of the megastar who experienced it all.

Please Note: Playing Burton contains adult language and themes."

[Alissa McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A recording of a one-man play performed by Matthew Rhys. Rhys brought all the sound and fury of Burton to life moving from his original Welsh to cultivated RP English voice with ease. One of my favorite moments is when the very young Dickie Jenkins (Burton's real surname) plows through a recitation of the, "To be or not to be," soliloquy to his mentor Philip Burton. Philip stops him mid-way and when Jenkins/Burton asks him if he liked it. Philip (as narrated by Rhys in a wonderfully woeful voice sounding much like a dour John Gielgud) says, "I used to Jenkins. I used to." Rhys was terrific, and the story a compelling and ultimately sad picture of a great actor whose inner demons fueled and ultimately consumed him.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Burton was an icon of stage and screen, hands down. The presentation of speaking the story of Burton from cradle to grave by Welsh actor Matthew Rhys was a wonderful choice. Rhys is best known (to me) for his portrayal of deep-cover “illegal” Russian agent on The Americans, where you’d never know that his native tongue is almost not understandable by most Americans. He inhabits the character of Burton, thought childhood in Wales, youth in London, and adult in Hollywood, the marriages to Liz, and the others. And the drinking ...

Extremely enjoyable entertainment.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mathew Rhys does an incredible job of narrating this piece. If you close your eyes, you can almost imagine that you’re once again in the theatre, seeing an incredible performance. However, I just found the piece dry - especially seeing as Richard Burton is such an iconic person, and there were so many stories you could choose to tell - it felt like the author wanted us to just believe he was “just a man”. And he was, just a man. But one with an incredible life.

I don’t know - maybe I’ll have to do another listen to see if it’s just me, the moment in time, or the piece.

[Tom Axworthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one man play writen by Mark Jenkins, played by Matthew Rhys ,is based on an inventive concept which is that the greatest role of Richard Jenkins of Wales, a coal miners son with talent ,was playing Richard Burton, world- famous actor who wasted his talent.Only two hours, this Audible Original audiobook play is heavily based on anecdotes told by Burton and the roles played by him. Rhys captures the lyrical Welsh lilt of Burton' voice and the play is funny in many places, though it ends in the tragedy of Jenkins/ Burton's alcoholism. It was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.

[Shari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like meeting an aging RB in a dark bar late at night and listening to him (a scotch or two in, no doubt) freelance about his life. Riveting and heartbreaking. Passionate and blind. A mercurial, tragic presence. This is a gem, an incredible performance, and currently included with an audible subscription.

[Lovescaleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

@MatthewRhys narrates and breathes life into Playing Burton. Richard Burton was one of the most extraordinary actors. His strong accent delivered passion and spirit into his roles. I could listen to Burton and Rhys all day!

[Mary-Claire R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen to this audio book and it was great! Matthew Rhys did an excellent job on this

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matthew Rhys does a phenomenal job as Burton here, but the whole thing strikes me as being a bit slight overall. Although I've no doubt it comes across as a more complete piece of work when staged.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5. The performance was outstanding. I found myself losing interest at the halfway mark though.

[Gillian Kaney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amazing performance from Matthew Rhys! He actually became Burton. But I expected it to be more interesting than it actually was.

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disjointed, stream of consciousness. I listened for a while and finally gave up. I couldn't frankly tell if this was actual Richard Burton or simply authorial intent.

Not worth the time or effort.

[Geannie Bastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little Audio play.

[Dori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good and I enjoyed it!

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in stentorian tones consistent with classic English theatre. I liked the second "act" better, but enjoyed listening and learning more about Richard Burton. People of a certain age and who enjoy theatre are more likely to enjoy this.

[Mary Lynn HR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Approximately 23 pages.