Everyone loves the National Health Service, in fact the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson famously said “the NHS is the closest thing the English people have to a religion”. It’s therefore fitting that the man who is widely credited for creating the NHS should have a great play made about his life. Nye, the National Theatre’s production about the Labour politician Aneurin ‘Nye’ Bevan, excels in meeting this brief. This riveting play written by Tim Price is a powerful and entertaining portrayal of one of Britain’s most iconic political figures. Michael Sheen delivers a tour-de-force performance as Bevan, capturing the politician’s steadfast beliefs, sharp intellect and trademark wit.
The play opens with Bevan in hospital after having an operation, appropriately in a hospital that he was responsible for building. During surgery for an ulcer, doctors discover something more serious that will ultimately kill him. He’s given morphine to relieve his pain which causes him to hallucinate back to key moments in his life and from this we get to explore his life and legacy in a non-linear manner.
We are transported back to his childhood in Wales where a sadistic teacher beats him because of his stammer. In a glorious scene, a friend introduces him to a library where Bevan discovers the power of books to extend his vocabulary and find alternative words from those that his stammer causes him difficulty to pronounce. Like a man reborn, Bevan beams triumphantly, “instead of s-s-s-say, I can use the word articulate”.
“Michael Sheen delivers a tour-de-force performance as Bevan, capturing the politician’s steadfast beliefs, sharp intellect and trademark wit”.
The whole scene is like a live version of a Disney cartoon in which the cast dance around the stage with piles of books lifting and moving Bevan into a range of positions so he can discover the book containing the word he needs. Director Rufus Norris skilfully uses surreal moments like this to turn what could easily have been a dry political biography into an accessible and engaging play. Nowhere was this better illustrated than in the scene in which Bevan sings the song Get Happy while he and the cast as doctors and nurses dance animatedly around a hospital ward. Of all the things I expected to see in Nye, Michael Sheen singing and dancing wasn’t one of them but I was delighted to see it happen.
Sheen is not alone in his brilliance and the supporting cast delivers top notch performances bringing to life the figures that shaped Bevan’s life, from his formidable wife Jennie Lee (portrayed with strength and determination by Sharon Small) to his political sparring partner Winston Churchill (a robust and bellicose Tony Jayawardena). Many of the actors play multiple roles and the diversity in the cast is a joy. Churchill is a person of colour, as is Nye’s sister (the talented Kezrena James), and Prime Minister Clement Atlee is played by a woman (Stephanie Jacob in a bald wig).
I’m not sure if this was because Bevan, in his hallucinatory state, was confusing medical staff in the hospital with significant people from his past (the parts were portrayed by the same actors) or if this was colour and gender blind casting, it didn’t matter because either way the performances made it easy to accept.
As well as recycling the cast across different scenes, props were also repurposed. The stage was mostly bare except for a few rows of green curtains which were moved around to change the location from a hospital in one moment before they became the green benches of the House of Commons in the next one. Beds were used for patients in hospital in some scenes and more creatively as lecterns in a council meeting in another. All of this worked to give the production a bit of a quirky vibe.
A powerful aspect of Nye is its relevance to the present day. Many of the problems they faced in that post war era are similar to those we face today, not least a fractured society and an uncertain future. Bevan’s message of solidarity and compassion feels more necessary now than ever. His tireless advocacy for the most vulnerable members of society serves as a reminder of the power politics can have to effect meaningful change.
Bevan’s determination to drive through his vision for the NHS against opposition from MPs in the Conservative Party, and some in his own Labour Party, as well as from doctors who were resistant to change, is a lesson for politicians today of what they can achieve in a challenging political environment. A play that can convey all that in 2 hours 40 minutes can’t be a bad thing.
Need to know: Nye plays at the National Theatre until 11 May 2024
