Nye: a 'rousing' drama about NHS founder Aneurin Bevan
A 'cradle to grave' story starring Michael Sheen that is rich in 'poignant insights'

Michael Sheen is "in his element" as the architect of the NHS, Aneurin Bevan, in Tim Price's "rousing" new play "Nye", said Dominic Cavendish in The Telegraph.
Sheen is "by turns down to earth and messianic, tender and full of clenched tenacity". And there is "no faulting the rest of the company either", Cavendish added.
Younger audience members "may know next to nothing about" Bevan, known as Nye, "the honourable member for Ebbw Vale, the left-wing orator who oversaw the creation of the National Health Service", said Clive Davis in The Times.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This production will "hopefully change that", said Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett in The Guardian. In 1948, when the NHS was founded, "almost everyone in Britain knew his name", and his death in 1960 "led to an outpouring of national mourning".
Like the former Labour MP and health minister, Sheen is "something of a Welsh folk hero, and his embodiment of the role astonishing", said Cosslett. Yes, the play "verges towards the sentimental at times", but it gets away with its slightly saccharine note "because it's also inventive, surreal and at times very funny".
There's some "skating over historical detail" as we follow him "from cradle to grave in a morphine-induced fever-dream amid Bevan's hospitalisation with terminal stomach cancer in 1960", said Cavendish. At one point, he sings a rendition of "Get Happy" in his pyjamas, with medical staff dancing around him.
Having an "ageing famous figure reliving his life in convenient vignettes" like this is a little "tired" as a format, said Alice Saville in The Independent, but director Rufus Norris "keeps things nimble and strange".
There are "poignant biographical insights". Initially, Sheen is "touchingly delighted to be treated by the public health system he helped dream into existence", but is soon "lost in post-operative hallucinations: the sadistic schoolteacher who beat him for his stammer, the black lung-afflicted miner father who – ironically – he couldn't or wouldn't help".
We also learn how Bevan's wife, Labour MP Jennie Lee, "sidelined her own ambitions to support her husband's career", said Cosslett in The Guardian. With the NHS currently crumbling, "the timeliness of the play, and some of its lines about Tory interests and ideology, were not lost on the audience".
National Theatre, London SE1 (020-3989 5455) until 11 May. Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, 18 May to 1 June. Screened live in cinemas via NT Live on 23 April.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Adrienne Wyper has been a freelance sub-editor and writer for The Week's website and magazine since 2015. As a travel and lifestyle journalist, she has also written and edited for other titles including BBC Countryfile, British Travel Journal, Coast, Country Living, Country Walking, Good Housekeeping, The Independent, The Lady and Woman’s Own.
-
Book reviews: 'Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream' and 'Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television'
Feature Private equity and the man who created 'I Love Lucy' get their close-ups
-
Can Texas redistricting save the US House for the GOP?
Today's Big Question Trump pushes a 'ruthless' new plan, but it could backfire
-
'No one should be surprised by this cynical strategy'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The best film prequels of all time
The Week Recommends Balancing new information with what the audience already knows is a perilous tightrope
-
One great cookbook: 'The Cook You Want to Be'
The Week Recommends And the way you want to eat — now
-
6 helpful (and way cute) phone accessories
The Week Recommends Answer the call of style
-
The 5 best TV reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Finding an entirely new cast to play beloved characters is harder than it looks
-
Snow what? 6 charming ski towns to visit during peak summer.
The Week Recommends No powder, no problem
-
An American girl takes on London, 'Bosch' gets another spinoff and Washington Black leaps from page to screen in July TV
the week recommends This month's new television releases include 'Too Much,' 'Ballard' and 'Washington Black'
-
5 dreamy books to dive into this July
The Week Recommends A 'politically charged' collection of essays, historical fiction goes sci-fi and more
-
Rustle up some fun at these Western hotels and dude ranches
The Week Recommends Six properties that are ready to rope you in