For Welsh roles, see England: The new Richard Burton movie is a tale as old as time

Stephen Price

A biopic of legendary Welsh actor Richard Burton ‘wrapped’ last week - and in a recurring theme for films about Wales and the Welsh, the lead roles have all gone to folk from England.

In a surprise to no one, Welsh actors and actresses appear to have been sidelined yet again, with Aneurin Barnard and Aimee-Ffion Edwards turning up for two supporting roles in order to add a touch of authenticity, or perhaps to shut us up on social media.

The film is said to tell 'the moving, untold story of Richard Burton's formative years and the man who became his guiding hand and inspiration'.

Mr Burton will focus on wild schoolboy Rich Jenkins, the son of a boozy miner, and the English teacher who recognised his talent, Philip Burton - transforming Rich Jenkins into Richard Burton the biggest star Wales has ever produced.

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I (don’t) predict a riot

We’re not ones to riot any more, to our credit, but we’re all certainly growing tired of watching our talent sidelined, our accents aped poorly and continued and offensive missed opportunity to grow another Catherine Zeta Jones or Luke Evans in some sort of industry-approved act of self fulfilling prophecy

'Ah but we need big names, we need bums on seats, what about Welsh people playing other roles?!??!?!’ I’ll be told.

Give us a break (literally).

There is no even playing field whereby English language roles in Wales come up often, for one. As a minority people within the UK, if we’re not getting any of the big roles outside of our country, surely we should get a look in on our own turf now and then?

In this Welsh-faced movie, we see Richard dreaming of becoming an actor, but his ambitions are in danger of being derailed by a combination of family trouble, the pressure of war, and his own lack of discipline.

Mr Burton recognised the raw talent in his pupil, and made it his mission to fight for him, becoming his tutor, strict taskmaster and eventually his adoptive father.

Hammersmith-born Toby Jones, fresh from his acclaimed performance in the TV series Mr Bates vs. The Post Office, will star in the title role, with rising star, and Oxford native, Harry Lawtey playing the young Richard Jenkins.

 

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A post shared by Aneurin Barnard (@aneurin.b)

Oscar nominee, and Brighton native, Lesley Manville plays ‘Ma Smith’, Philip Burton’s landlady and close confidante, who acts as a watchful eye and guiding force over young Richard, while Aimee-Ffion Edwards and Aneurin Barnard have been thrown some crumbs and will play ‘Cis’ and ‘Elfed’, Richard’s elder sister and brother-in-law who looked after him after the death of his mother (no doubt on hand to offer some advice on how not to do a bad impression of a Welsh accent).

Shooting finished on the movie last week, with Aneurin Barnard posting about the shoot on his Instagram page, while Toby Jones was snapped DJing at the wrap party.

Surprisingly, the film has been financed by BBC Wales and Ffilm Cymru Wales, in partnership with Creative Wales, with Marc Evans helming the movie as director - so why, must I ask again, are English folk playing the lead roles?

History repeating

But then, of course, we also know all too well the long history of Welsh people being overlooked for Welsh roles.

From recent travesties such as Save the Cinema, Bridgend and Gwen, or slightly older films such as Very Annie Mary andThe Englishman Who Went up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain right back to the early days of cinema and the abomination that is How Green Was My Valley, movies about Wales and the Welsh without the right approach to Welsh input always fail to gain genuine homegrown acclaim.

We all know, at least this side of the border anyway, that there isn’t one Welsh accent, so I imagine they actors have tried a generic possibly-somewhere-in-the-valleys-but-not-too-deep-mun accent. The lead will have ‘studied’ Burton’s accent on YouTube.

To give our roles out to others as if we aren’t a distinct people with a distinct cultural identity is a disrespect on the same level as any other miscasting of marginalised people.

Is it any wonder so many countries across the world use England and Britain interchangeably when, even on this relatively small level, we aren’t even given an opportunity to be represented?

Lost opportunity

To cast a lead actor from outside of Wales does a complete disservice to one of Wales’ most celebrated sons.

Taking on the responsibility of sharing Burton’s story with the world is just that - a responsibility, and in the search for assumed wider appeal, it’s got it wrong before it’s even out there.

The arts are embedded in Welsh culture, acting prowess is in our blood, and there has never been a shortage of Welsh talent.

When it comes to telling uniquely Welsh stories, our own people are naturally the best people for the job.

Time will tell if it’s got it right - the actors are certainly masters of their craft, but it’s yet another lost opportunity to let our own talent shine. And that is a shame.

Mr Burton is set for a 2025 release to coincide with the centenary of Richard Burton’s birth.

I’ll be washing my hair.