TWO one-man shows produced by the Torch Theatre will be heading to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer.

Fresh from it successful Welsh tour, Grav - about iconic rugby star and Welshman Ray Gravell - and Oh Hello!, based on the life of Carry On star Charles Hawtrey, will be heading to the famous festival.

Both plays feature actors who bear a striking resemblance to the icons they play, Gareth Bale and Jamie Rees.

Written by Owen Thomas, Grav was written with the blessing of Mari, Ray’s widow, and contributions from his Welsh and British Lions team mates.

It was directed by the Torch Theatre’s artistic director Peter Doran and explores the life of a man who was as compelling away from the rugby field as he was on it.

Gareth said: "The response to the show in Wales was just terrific. It goes to show how much love there still is for Grav today.

"There have been many positive comments regarding the poetry of the script, the humour and the emotion. It will be thrilling to perform the show in Edinburgh and to see how audiences respond to it there – I can’t wait.”

Charles Hawtrey was one of the best known comedy actors of the 40s, 50s and 60s but as his career waned, so his behaviour became more drunken, promiscuous and eccentric.

Pembrokeshire actor Jamie Rees - who is also the Torch Theatre’s marketing manager - plays the performer who made more than 100 film and TV appearances.

Jamie said: “Hawtrey was a gay alcoholic through the 1950s, 60s and 70s. I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been for him.

"Homosexuality was against the law for much of his life so it must have been horribly difficult. There’s no doubting he could be a horrible man, especially when he was drunk, but when he was sober and on the top of his game he was funny, intelligent and a very good actor with an infectious personality. Oh Hello! is a classic roller-coaster story and one, I hope, that Edinburgh audiences will be able to identify with and enjoy.”

Pembrokeshire audiences will be able to catch both shows at the Torch Theatre before their runs in Edinburgh – Grav will be on in Milford on July 23 and 24, and Oh Hello on July 31.

Peter Doran, who also took another Torch production, Whose Afraid of Rachel Roberts, to the Fringe in 2013, said the theatre was delighted to be heading to the festival again.

"The two shows we are presenting have both had sell out runs earlier this year and great critical reviews. We're grateful to the Arts Council of Wales for their financial support and we're honoured to be representing Wales in such a prestigious event," he said.

Both plays will be running at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh for three weeks in August.