Burton @ Assembly Hall

Review by Leonie Walters | 09 Sep 2014

Rhodri Miles is mesmerising as the actor Richard Burton, who celebrates his 46th birthday by unapologetically looking back on a life of drama, drink and dalliances. Apart from occasionally fixing himself a drink, all Miles does is talk, think and smirk, but his audiences have been so spellbound and numerous that he’s seen himself promoted from Assembly Hall’s Baillie Room to the much larger Rainy Hall.

An appreciation of mid 20th century cinema won’t hurt your enjoyment of the piece, as Burton’s romantic conquests are all leading Hollywood ladies and knowing whose breasts exactly he describes as ‘apocalyptic’ will make them seem even more so. Even without it, however, Miles beautifully conveys the recursive parallels between his own life and that of the characters he has played. His is the pain of an actor who can only convey those emotions he genuinely feels. It means the the occasional Hamlet quote – the most ‘boring’ of plays – is no more than a natural way for him to reflect upon his own memories.

Some of the humorous writing falls a bit flat with the audience, but Burton’s brand of black humour and cynicism is vital to render his monologue, which emanates from the midst of a depression, palatable and even uplifting. The story may be a straighforward one of the disintegration of a boozy life, but it is so well performed that it can even appeal to crowds who’ve never heard of Ava Gardner.

Burton, Assembly Hall, run ended http://rhodrimiles.com