Nye

Olivier – National Theatre, 06/04/24

Credit: Johan Persson

Final rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I have to admit things started off on the wrong foot, upon arriving at the theatre, learning that Michael Sheen – a huge pull factor for the production – was indisposed and that an understudy would be performing the lead. I remained determined not to let that detract from the play itself; and it turned out not to matter because Lee Mengo – off the subs bench and into the titular character of Nye Bevan – was exceptionally good. And the same can be said for the entire production, which is some of the greatest theatre I’ve had the privilege of watching.

This semi-biographical play about the man who founded the NHS has everything. Comedy, heart wrenching tragedy and emotion, song, dance, visual effects, soundscapes, projections, lasers… I could go on. From the moment the play begins, the three or four rows of green clinical curtain rails, and bland patterned floor, give an immediate sense of a hospital ward. What follows is a series of flashbacks into the life of Nye, and how his childhood and then political experiences led to the foundation of the national health service. The large cast – I counted 21 (plus doubling) but there may have been more – were terrific, though I particularly want to commend Sharon Small for her Jennie Lee (Nye’s wife), Roger Evans for his Archie Lush (Nye’s closest childhood friend), and also Tony Jayawardena for his expert imitation of Winston Churchill.

Early into Nye’s childhood, we learn he has a stammer, and Archie takes him to a library to discover synonyms, to help him overcome that which has been tormenting him (illustrated by a scene in the classroom featuring an unsympathetic teacher). The choreographed movement in the library is a touching moment. We see Nye slip in and out of a coma as the actors move masterfully around the stage to transport the hospital bed from scene to scene; the staging and set design are excellent.

Watching Nye take on the government in the House of Commons was also thrilling to watch, with some great ad-libbing from the front bench politicians to move the scene along at a terrific pace. Beds are turned on their sides to become doors or podiums, and twisted back again to return to being beds and throw us back into the harsh realities of watching a dying man in the hospital with worried relatives by his side.

The musical number felt suitably fanciful for a socialist dreamer trying to make the world a better place. But there were plenty of emotional pleas too, and I found myself close to tears at a number of moments. The entire cast and production design came together to have the audience rooting for Nye, culminating in a brilliantly tense stand off – via projection – with the British Medical Association. When the union decides to back the national health service, there’s jubilation, but this isn’t over-indulged or celebrated on stage – within a few moments we’re brought back to Jennie and Archie saying their goodbyes to Nye.

I could wholeheartedly recommend this production to literally everyone, and that’s without even having seen Michael Sheen work his magic. I fell absolutely in love with this show by the end.