From 2 November, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama will host an exhibition that sheds new light on Richard Burton’s early life here in Wales, donated on permanent loan by Burton’s niece, Rhianon James Trowell.
The exhibition was opened by Burton’s second cousin, Llewela Gibbons, who was raised with him, and his great nephew, Guy Masterson.
The College opened its £22.5 million new facilities earlier this year, naming its new 160 seat theatre after the great Welsh actor. The bronze bust of Burton, given to the College by Dame Elizabeth Taylor at the Royal Gala event at Buckingham Palace, now stands at the theatre entrance.
For the first time Burton’s school and Eisteddfod certificates can be seen together with his school cricket team photograph from 1939 and a simple wooden tray he made in for his sister Cecilia. After a brief spell at Oxford University, Burton was posted to Canada with the RAF at the end of World War II and his letters and postcards home provide an intriguing insight to a young man on the cusp of greatness. The trunk was used by Burton in the early 1950s during his many trans-Atlantic voyages and has been gifted by RWCMD graduate, Josh Richards who can also be heard reading the postcards and letters on the attached ipad.
The Burton family have not only endorsed the naming of the new theatre after Richard Burton, but have also granted the College’s resident company of actors the title of ‘The Richard Burton Company’. Synonymous with a passion and talent for acting, the Burton legacy will continue to be an inspiration to students at the Royal Welsh College.
“He was a very passionate and determined man and I know this new theatre in the capital of Wales will inspire future generations of young actors to follow in his footsteps.” – Kate Burton
Richard Burton was a giant of the British and Broadway stage and one of Wales’ greatest actors. In the same month the College opened the theatre that bears his name, he was awarded a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
