Be informed

I hit sixty this year. A milestone for anyone, but especially for those of us who never thought we’d get that far – not that we would die prematurely, rather that 60 years seems an impossible number of years ever to reach (despite the evidence of its absolute possibility). So what is to do to celebrate the milestone? Well, obviously, do something that I have not done before. For me, then, it was to go to the National Theatre in London with my beloved. Neither of us have been there before, it turns out. So what is on on the special day? Well, magically, it is Nye by Tim Price. It is the story of the founding of the National Health Service (NHS) told through the life of the man who made it happen, Aneurin Bevan, played by Michael Sheen. Expensive, but you only live once and it is down hill from 60.

I’m not a fan of theatre as some of my friends know. It is all a bit too representational for me. I’ve understood the purpose of theatre. I think. But here I was attracted to the combination of my own history (the NHS), Michael Sheen (left) and the National. Michael Sheen I have seen in films. The National – I always remember many BBC programmes ending with the statement that x and y were both National Theatre players. I did not really know what that meant. But it must have been important. 50 years on, I have an answer.

Not being a fan of theatre, I was additionally anxious that the performance took the best part of 3 hours. But in the end, I need not have worried. There was not a moment of boredom or anxiety. Nye Bevan is depicted honestly by Sheen. Sheen is in every scene wearing pyjamas even when making a speech in Parliament. See what I mean about being representational?

The play traces Bevan’s journey from being bullied by teachers in school because of his stammer – Sheen handles the stammer brilliantly – to the local council, to Parliament, to the Health Ministry and death. In hospital. There were for me three standout scenes. Getting over the stammer was facilitated by access to libraries – and books. There’s the realisation that if some words are unpronounceable, others with the same meaning are perhaps not. Focus on what is possible rather than what is not possible. The library scene is uplifting (literally). Those National Theatre Players show why all of those years ago they got an additional mention. The second scene was an exchange with Churchill, his parliamentary nemesis. Churchill taught him that compromise was sometimes needed to get what you want. Sometimes MPs have to go through government or opposition lobbies against their better judgment. And finally the scene where he takes on the doctors (supported by Tories in the Parliament, including Churchill) that are vehemently against the nationalisation of their profession. He wins them over through compromise. The NHS is founded. We now reflect on the extent to which the Tories of the 2020s have systematically undermined the service because of their seeming hatred of public provision of services that make our society and define civilisation.

There is a much more to this play than these three scenes, of course. My sixtieth birthday present from the NHS was a letter inviting me to provide them with some “poo” to test for bowel cancer. Bevan died of stomach cancer at the age of 62.