ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
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The NHS case for a left-wing Labour party
PAUL DONOVAN salutes a timely dramatisation of Aneurin Bevin's life, and the political struggle on the left to create the NHS
Roger Evans (Archie Lush), Michael Sheen (Nye Bevan) and Sharon Small (Jennie Lee) in Nye
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
MICK McSHANE rubs shoulders with Mod legend Steve Craddock and joins in with the joyous Glasgow choir
DENNIS BROE sifts out the ideological bias of the newest TV series offerings, and picks out what to see, and what to avoid
Nye
Olivier Theatre, NT
The narrative is centred on looking back from Nye's deathbed, fittingly set in an NHS hospital ward. In fact the hospital aroma permeates throughout, when it is even a nurse serving the drinks in the House of Commons when Nye first meets future Labour MP and minister Jenny Lee.
The play, by Tim Price, looks back at the different experiences that formed Nye Bevan, from his time in the pits and local council, to the House of Commons and ultimately battling the doctors over NHS contracts.
There are great performances throughout, none more so than Sheen, who brings forth the vulnerabilities of the man, as well as his explosive energy and passion — all done whilst wearing pyjamas.
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