When I walked into the theatre to watch a play about the founding of the NHS, I did not expect to see a dishevelled Michael Sheen adorned in patterned pyjamas performing a musical number. Nye is an absurdly humorous production with a powerful message – we should look after everyone.
Aneurin Bevan, colloquially known as Nye, opened the first NHS hospital on July 5th 1948. The personal and political journey he took to achieve this momentous goal is laid out in Tim Price’s fascinating new play.
Structuring the narrative as a dream sequence, whilst not particularly original, allowed for great creative freedom. A stand out scene from the first act sees patients in hospital beds tipped on their side to resemble human plinths, transforming the setting into a council meeting. This blending of clinical imagery into the outside world is a clever device used to emphasise how policy directly impacts people’s lives.
Despite its intentional revelry in the absurd, the play strikingly highlights the significance of social services we now take for granted. Seeing a young Nye using a library to broaden his vocabulary and distract from his stutter, we are left to reflect on the fact that when a social programme has become normalised we do not question why it is free or whether people will share the resources provided with others in mind.
Another notable feature of Nye is its criticism of Winston Churchill. Up until very recently Churchill was a figure mythologized as a pure hero of British history. Nye argues that whilst Churchill was a great orator, he cared little about the welfare of the poor in his own country, and used the war primarily as a way to prop up his own legacy.
However, it is not just oppositional political figures who are stripped bare by the play, it’s also Nye himself. By exploring the plight of Nye’s sister who took care of their ailing father, as well as his wife Jennie Lee who sacrificed aspects of her own political career in order to further Nye’s, the play showcases how almost every historical man’s success would have been impossible without the overlooked labour of the women in their life. Would Nye have been able to achieve his political goals if he were a full time carer? It’s doubtful.
Nevertheless, Nye is certainly a celebration of the man himself. The speeches made by Nye throughout the play are deeply compelling, driving me and all those around me to tears. In an era where political activism is often reduced to a reshared social media post, Nye has serious motivational potential for those who actually want to take meaningful action towards helping others today.
Whilst some scenes were crafted more effectively than others, overall Nye achieves it’s goal of reminding the audience of the dangers of rampant individualism. Many talking points against the formation of the NHS were presented as notably convincing at the time, Nye cautions us not to lose sight of the bigger picture.
The play ends with an allusion to a scene very early on in the narrative. In the earlier scene Nye is being caned by his teacher for his stutter. In solidarity, his classmates place their hands on top of his, willing to bear the unfair treatment together. In the plays final scene, Nye is dying in an NHS hospital. He reflects on how safe he feels knowing that he could access this care no matter what. A team of doctors all reach out to hold him, just as his classmates did.
Finally, he sees his dead father holding a lantern in the distance, a poignant reference to his mining background. He asks: “dad, did I help people?”