THE life of legendary Welsh actor Richard Burton is told in his own words, in an award-winning stage show heading to Cumbria.

Rhodri Miles presents the critically-acclaimed one-man show, Burton, written by Gwynne Edwards, at the Brewery Arts Centre on Friday June 9, and at the Beggar's Theatre, in Millom, on Thursday June 22.

The play - winner of the Best International Show at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2010 - charts the actor's rise from humble beginnings to Hollywood mega-stardom.

Beautiful women, alcohol, wealth, stage and screen are the threads woven into this sad, happy, exuberant often hilarious show.

Drink was the only real anodyne to his deteriorating health and mental state, his doomed tempestuous relationship with Liz Taylor and his constant guilt over the abandonment of his family.

Miles trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has been a professional actor for more than 15 years.

Film credits to his name include David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises, while his TV work includes the Richard II: Hollow Crown series, Game of Thrones, and Atlantis.

On stage, he has starred in the role of Dylan Thomas in Clown in the Moon, which toured Wales during the Dylan 100 festival and will also tour nationally in spring 2018.

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"I’ve always wanted to play Richard Burton," said Rhodri Miles, who is 46, and was born in Pontarddulais, just six miles away from Burton’s birthplace.

"He was a great thespian actor, an alcoholic womaniser who 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."

Tickets for the Kendal and Millom shows are available from the respective venues.