Theatre review: Nye by Tim Price, National Theatre at the WMC

Sarah Morgan Jones

“You are a born contrarian. The educated miner, the stuttering orator. The bed-hopping husband. The leader with no mandate. The brave coward.” (Nye by Tim Price, Methuen Drama).

The long-awaited transfer of the story of Aneurin Bevan from the National Theatre in London as a co-production with the Wales Millennium Centre last week has brought arguably one of the finest actors of our time back home to Wales, and with him an outstanding and predominantly Welsh cast.

Michael Sheen embodies Nye, replete in striped red pyjamas, at the end of his days being cared for by the system he created, dreaming in painkilling-opiate-technicolour of his life.

If you have scant knowledge of the man and his work, this exceptional piece rollercoasters you through his life and the conception and birth of the NHS with humour, pathos and a large lesson in history. Delivered in Wales by the ‘English’ National Theatre.

Critical point

The play which has been 10 years in the making, during which time successive Tory governments have overseen the dismantling of the institution which has held us all, comes at a critical point in the service’s history.

As I drove to the Wales Millennium Centre, I listened to Rishi Sunak apologise for the decade-spanning, all-systems failure and outright deception which led to the infected blood scandal, describing a ‘day of shame’ for the country.

Now, with a general election on the table, its future will form part of the battleground.

Only if you were not born of a woman and you are not yet dead are you likely to have escaped interaction with the NHS.

An institution based on a concept so very simple: universal healthcare free at the point of need. Contributed to by us all when we can, supporting us all when we need it.

The brainchild of Aneurin Bevan, the contrarian, the ‘noisy member for Ebbw Vale’ for over 30 years, he changed the very psyche of Britain by means of ‘Tredegarisation’ – upscaling the medical aid society in his hometown to fit the whole nation.

Thanks to him, we live in a state which has within its power the ability to provide world class healthcare to every one of its citizens, rich or poor, old or young, working or not.

But in keeping with his contrary nature, his ‘baby’, his way of ‘holding us all’ and looking after us all, has become, 76 years on, a creature which we both praise and criticise.

For as Sheen’s Bevan reflects when laying out his vision of the NHS: “We shall never have all we need. Expectation will always exceed capacity… the service must always be changing, growing and improving; it must always appear inadequate.”

Betterment

As a man who overcame a cruel schooling but understood the value of betterment through education, Nye grew up among peers who shared his values and principles.

Together, through learning, reading and debate in the libraries created by miners, they took their places in the administrative boardrooms of Tredegar alongside the stuffed shirts of the establishment.

From there he rose through the ranks of political power, unafraid to be a thorn in the side of his opponents.

He married Jennie Lee, played by Sharon Small, herself a rising star of politics, initially one of only five female MPs, ultimately becoming – after many years of shelving her own career to support that of her husband – a Minister for the Arts with a formidable reputation.

Her sacrifice and fears are explored as she stands behind the man she describes as the country’s best hope for socialism.

Though not quite reaching the top, his achievements as Minister for Health and Housing were the perhaps the boldest this country has ever seen.

Beautiful

Although Sheen is, of course, the ‘star’ of the show, there is a clear ensemble feel to the piece, and of the large cast no line or beautiful tableau moment (of which there are many) is wasted or secondary.

They work as one, a seamless team presenting a fast-paced story with not a beat missed under the direction of Rufus Norris. Amid some seriously stylish lighting and projection, the cast grow and retreat as if in a dance, a pulse.

The understated simplicity of the set design by Vicki Mortimer, ostensibly hospital curtains and beds, employed with breathtaking versatility are of a quality one must surely expect from a National Theatre.

Beautifully sound-tracked-and-lit Busby Berkeley-esque set changes and atmospheric hints of Edward Hopper merge into and from the bright clinical hospital setting.

Together they bring sharp focus on the dimly lit scenes which reach into the darkest moments of Bevan’s life, his connection with his dying father.

Emotions

The time spent peering into this life flies by, while no doubt evoking a range of emotions in each and every audience member who will have their own trigger point from what they see.

I considered my own recent dance with death during which I feared that the system I was depending on is fair on its knees and that maybe I’d prefer to do my dying at home.

I reflected on the experiences of each of my late parents, my mum a lifelong nurse, and how as they approached the end the NHS was both a blessing and a beast by turn.

As Nye reminds us in a heated exchange that Churchill voted against his Bill no fewer than 21 times, I felt my blood boil at the ongoing failures to prevent the dismantling of the NHS through undervaluing, underfunding and undermining; and the abject absence of a convincing solution.

I wonder what he’d think of it all now.

Whether you catch it at the WMC or at one of the NT cinema screenings – if you get the chance, see it.

Nye by Tim Price is produced by the National Theatre at the WMC and runs until 1 June.

Director – Rufus Norris, Set Designer – Vicki Mortimer, Costume Designer – Kinnetia Isidore, Lighting Designer – Paule Constable, Co-Choreographer – Steven Hoggett, Jess Williams, The National Theatre, London.

Tickets are available here.