One of the best film and stage actors of his generation, Richard Burton, is the subject of a one-man show at Theatr Gwaun in Fishguard on Friday.

Burton stars Rhodri Miles, who picked up the Best International Artist award at the inaugural Hollywood Fringe Festival for his portrayal on the iconic Welsh star.

The legendary actor is portrayed from humble beginnings to Hollywood mega-stardom. Beautiful women, alcohol, wealth, stage and screen are the threads woven into this sad, happy, exuberant, and often hilarious show, which culminates in his acrimonious first divorce from Elizabeth Taylor.

“I’ve always wanted to play Richard Burton,” said Rhodri Miles, who was born in Pontarddulais, just six miles away from Burton’s birthplace in Pontrhydyfen.

He added: “He was a great thespian actor, an alcoholic womaniser and often said that his natural disposition to the Celtic gloom was caused by the mist in the hills and the black in the coal, all of it seeping into his very being. When you think of Welsh iconic figures, he’s one of them.”

After leaving the Metropolitan Police, Miles trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has been a professional actor for 15 years.

He played a senior police officer in David Cronenberg’s movie Eastern Promises and among his other credits are Holby City, Torchwood and Welsh dramas High Hopes and Pobol Y Cwm.

He also played Dylan Thomas to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2007.

Burton is at Theatr Gwaun tonight (Friday) at 8pm.

Tickets are £8, or £6 for concessions. Call 01348 873421 for details.

PICTURE: Kirsten McTernan.