Angela V. John

Behind the Scenes: The Dramatic Lives of Philip Burton

Sale
£25

This book will be released in May 2025.

Pre-orders are charged at time of order and the book will be posted to you as soon as it becomes available.

UK postage is 99 pence per order.

'The story of Philip Burton is long overdue – and there is no one better to tell it than the inimitable Angela V. John.' – Michael Sheen

“Angela V. John has written a stupendous account of the life of my grandfather, Philip Burton. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, it tells the powerful story of a teacher who changed the lives of his pupils, most notably my father, Richard Burton. His legacy lives on today and this is a biography to be heralded.” – Kate Burton, Actor and Richard Burton’s daughter

“In Behind the Scenes, Angela V. John retrieves Philip Burton’s rich, improbable adventure with meticulous care and fascinating detail. Philip Burton’s passionate and inspirational devotion to the spoken word remains revolutionary.” – Toby Jones, who plays Philip Burton in the 2025 film Mr Burton

“Angela V. John has done history a service by bringing Philip Burton out from the shadow of his most illustrious pupil, and in such elegant prose.” – Geraint Talfan Davies, Writer and Broadcaster

“There is no one better qualified than Angela V. John to give us this loving insight into these two extraordinary Burtons… a fascinating read." – The Oldie

“A remarkable evocation of a life, which inspired so many individuals in schools, radio, television and film starting in South Wales and continuing in London, New York and Florida. Behind the Scenes is a detailed, perceptive and illuminating study of how far passion for a subject can propel social mobility further than stark ambition.” – Lloyd Trott, Academy Dramaturg, RADA

"This is a fine biography and a valuable addition to the corpus of work inspired by the Burtons of Port Talbot." – Desmond Clifford, Nation. Cymru

Philip Burton (1904-95) is best remembered as the schoolmaster responsible for training and transforming his pupil Richard Jenkins into Richard Burton, world-famous star of stage and screen. Together they produced a remarkable symbiosis. The stage-struck Philip Burton was present behind the scenes for the rest of the actor’s life, intervening at crucial moments to ensure consummate stage performances in, for example, Coriolanus, Hamlet and Camelot. This biography, drawing upon a number of previously unseen sources, provides a fresh angle on this compelling story. And by placing Philip Burton’s story centre stage, a remarkable figure also emerges in his own right. In a life that virtually spanned the twentieth century, he demonstrated resilience and transatlantic triumph against the odds.

Like his best-known protégé, he was born into an impoverished south Wales mining family. Alongside teaching, he acted, wrote and produced plays and in 1945, with wireless at its height, he became a BBC radio producer. He worked on almost 200 radio programmes, encouraging newcomers and producing work by Dylan Thomas. He wrote scripts for the fledgling television and penned its first ‘soap.’ Reinventing himself in the mid-1950s, Philip Burton moved to the United States where, after dabbling in the film industry and working as a theatre director, he became the inspirational first director of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. He took American citizenship and travelled across the States, delivering sparkling Shakespearean lecture-recitals. He published five books, living in Key West, Florida from the 1970s. Philip Burton died in 1995 aged ninety, his expertise and encouragement having enabled numerous aspiring actors and writers to flourish on both sides of the Atlantic.

Angela V. John is the author/editor of a dozen books. Her biographies include Turning the Tide (Parthian) about Lady Rhondda, and Elizabeth Robins: Staging a Life 1862-1952 (Routledge and The History Press), a study of the American actress, writer and suffragette who popularised Ibsen on the British stage. In 2019 her essay collection Rocking the Boat: Welsh Women who Championed Equality 1840-1990 (Parthian) explored different forms of biographical writing.
Behind the Scenes developed out of The Actors’ Crucible: Port Talbot and the Making of Burton, Hopkins, Sheen and All the Others (Parthian). Angela now lives in Pembrokeshire but grew up in Port Talbot and first met Richard Burton in 1969. For many years she held the Chair in History at the University of Greenwich, London. She is currently an honorary professor at Swansea University, president of Llafur, the Welsh People’s History Society, and of the Port Talbot Musical Theatre Society. (Photo: Jane Kimberley)

Back to Pre Order