Nye - NT Olivier / Wales Millennium / YouTube

[Rory]

NT Live 23rd April

[Being Alive]

And properly live too! To celebrate the 100th NT Live production.

[threeletteracronym]

I've just seen this - so pleased!

[djdan14]

Nice to have a live NT live from the actual NT - they have been lacking in recent times

[Jon]

Jan 9, 2024 21:34:05 GMT djdan14 said:

Nice to have a live NT live from the actual NT - they have been lacking in recent times

It's very expensive to broadcast live which is why they switched to recorded as live. I'm not sure if it's made a jot of different, Prima Facie sold really well despite not being live. 

[Being Alive]

Yes, the costs are so much more on an actual live, but I think as it's the 100th broadcast they're probably right to put the money into it (and Sheen is a good name)

[djdan14]

The live element isn’t so important as the majority I see are after live broadcast, however just nice to see it getting done from its original home rather than potential transfer.

[mrnutz]

I hated this.

It was the first preview so I'd hope some script changes to come as it was way too long (2h50m with a 20 min interval) - what could have been achieved in one much shorter scene was told in two.

There are some nice ideas in here somewhere, but the staging is sparse (with the odd clever moment) and for me the story of Bevan's life just isn't that interesting.

Half of the audience were on their feet at the end in rapturous applause, so what do I know?

[mrnutz]

Anyone else seen it yet?

[happysooz2]

I’m not seeing it until the middle of March.

[drmaplewood]

Feb 28, 2024 11:58:07 GMT mrnutz said:

Anyone else seen it yet?

I was there tonight, afraid to say this isn't good, despite Michael Sheen being very good. Some scenes need swift trimming, others can be binned completely.

The first half has quite surreal elements which I enjoyed, although nearly every scene was too long, but the sparse staging did not work, despite a couple of better flourishes.

The second half fell completely off a cliff for me, the staging became even more bare to the point that the huge Olivier stage looked very exposed and it turned into a lecture about how Nye got his way, with nearly zero dramatic tension. I am afraid to say my companion left at the interval and I started to wish I did the same.

The edits can be made but even if that happens, the lack of dramatic storytelling makes this feel like a long evening.

[mrnutz]

We also nearly left at the interval, but I wanted to give it the chance to improve.

It didn't, and I noticed a few more empty seats.

[nottobe]

Went to see this last night too. I wasn't sure what to expect but found the first half to be interesting and enjoyable with clever staging. It was great to hear Michael Sheen sing and dance to and I thought that dream scene particularly worked.

I started to feel a little under the weather in the second act so could not really concentrate on it however based on these comments and also what mum said who joined me seeing this, it went a bit off the rails. I feel like I can't really comment on the production as a whole then but I will be interested to read the reviews.

Maybe this would be better as a 90 minute straight through show.

[Steve]

I LOVED this tonight!

It's a passionate compassionate biography of Nye Bevan that is one part Dennis Potter's "The Singing Detective," one part Dr. Who, and all parts committed excellence by Michael Sheen.

It somewhat suffers by not developing any character (they are all either allies or obstacles) other than Bevan, but that (ironic, given that the man fought for others rather than himself) solipsism certainly suits it's Dennis Potter-esque framing device.

It is a work of cumulative power that got me in the end.

Some spoilers follow. . .

In Dennis Potter's "The Singing Detective," Michael Gambon dreams a life from his hospital bed, and here, Sheen's Nye Bevan remains in his striped pyjamas for the duration of the play, as he replays all his significant life moments from his hospital bed. The production pays explicit tribute to "The Singing Detective" by having Sheen's Bevan sing a defining song, in this case, Harold Arlen's "Get Happy," to express his joyous zealous fanaticism.

But this play is not all dreams, it's also an expression of the dramatic battles that Bevan fought to create a Nationalised Health Service, and this is where the play looked a LOT like Dr. Who to me, as Sheen's striped pyjamas perpetually resemble an eccentric Doctor Outfit, with his Doctor pitched somewhere between William Hartnell's irascibility, Tom Baker's know-it-all joviality and Peter Davison's willingness to learn.

As Sheen's pyjama-bedecked Time Lord Bevan travels through all his time lines, we witness his adversaries, such as the Doctors' Union, multiplied on a silver screen background marching relentlessly like ever-advancing storming robotic troops of Cybermen, or Tony Jayawardena's marvellously Machiavellian Master-like Churchill, testing his rival with crafty plots and offered alliances, and most amusing of all, Stephanie Jacob's super-sly Clement Attlee, operating a remote control desk to float in and out of scenes like the Dalek overlord, Davros.

These entertaining elements add a sprinkle of spice to the more mundane, more serious dramas of Bevan's life, such as his early loss of his father, his encounters with injustice at school, his battle with stammering, all the way up to his battle with the Grim Reaper.

Michael Sheen puts such humanity (compassion, confusion, fury, despair, humility) into Bevan's character through all of this, such that by the end, I was in tears.

All in all, despite the sidelining of all characters that aren't Bevan (the Bechdel test is screaming in despair with how little we get to know Sharon Small's heartfelt Jennie Lee, other than as Bevan's wife), this is a terrific epic serious production, spiced up by some entertaining elements, that's 4 stars for me.

PS: The running time was 2 hours 40 minutes (including one interval), with a prompt 10:10pm finish;

PPS: If you want to see what a deathbed Nye Bevan drama looks like without the entertaining elements, the poetic ghostly "Food for Ravens," written and directed by the playwright Trevor Griffiths for BBC Wales, and starring Brian Cox as Nye Bevan is finally on iPlayer, for the next 4 months:-

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0077ct3/food-for-ravens

[greatauntedna]

I ultimately found it quite pedestrian and Nye not to be that interesting a figure. The surreal stuff felt a little half hearted. Michael Sheen was brilliant though.

[alexandra]

Mar 3, 2024 0:11:39 GMT Steve said:

I LOVED this tonight!

It's a passionate compassionate biography of Nye Bevan that is one part Dennis Potter's "The Singing Detective," one part Dr. Who, and all parts committed excellence by Michael Sheen.

It somewhat suffers by not developing any character (they are all either allies or obstacles) other than Bevan, but that (ironic, given that the man fought for others rather than himself) solipsism certainly suits it's Dennis Potter-esque framing device.

It is a work of cumulative power that got me in the end.

Some spoilers follow. . .

In Dennis Potter's "The Singing Detective," Michael Gambon dreams a life from his hospital bed, and here, Sheen's Nye Bevan remains in his striped pyjamas for the duration of the play, as he replays all his significant life moments from his hospital bed. The production pays explicit tribute to "The Singing Detective" by having Sheen's Bevan sing a defining song, in this case, Harold Arlen's "Get Happy," to express his joyous zealous fanaticism.

But this play is not all dreams, it's also an expression of the dramatic battles that Bevan fought to create a Nationalised Health Service, and this is where the play looked a LOT like Dr. Who to me, as Sheen's striped pyjamas perpetually resemble an eccentric Doctor Outfit, with his Doctor pitched somewhere between William Hartnell's irascibility, Tom Baker's know-it-all joviality and Peter Davison's willingness to learn.

As Sheen's pyjama-bedecked Time Lord Bevan travels through all his time lines, we witness his adversaries, such as the Doctors' Union, multiplied on a silver screen background marching relentlessly like ever-advancing storming robotic troops of Cybermen, or Tony Jayawardena's marvellously Machiavellian Master-like Churchill, testing his rival with crafty plots and offered alliances, and most amusing of all, Stephanie Jacob's super-sly Clement Attlee, operating a remote control desk to float in and out of scenes like the Dalek overlord, Davros.

These entertaining elements add a sprinkle of spice to the more mundane, more serious dramas of Bevan's life, such as his early loss of his father, his encounters with injustice at school, his battle with stammering, all the way up to his battle with the Grim Reaper.

Michael Sheen puts such humanity (compassion, confusion, fury, despair, humility) into Bevan's character through all of this, such that by the end, I was in tears.

All in all, despite the sidelining of all characters that aren't Bevan (the Bechdel test is screaming in despair with how little we get to know Sharon Small's heartfelt Jennie Lee, other than as Bevan's wife), this is a terrific epic serious production, spiced up by some entertaining elements, that's 4 stars for me.

PS: The running time was 2 hours 40 minutes (including one interval), with a prompt 10:10pm finish;

PPS: If you want to see what a deathbed Nye Bevan drama looks like without the entertaining elements, the poetic ghostly "Food for Ravens," written and directed by the playwright Trevor Griffiths for BBC Wales, and starring Brian Cox as Nye Bevan is finally on iPlayer, for the next 4 months:-

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0077ct3/food-for-ravens

Completely agree with this;* very enjoyable. As for the sidelining of other characters: yes, but it is called Nye…

* except for the substitution of “it’s” for “its”, but that’s part of Steve’s branding. 🙂

[n1david]

I wasn't a fan of this - I felt it left too much implied about Bevan's history, the historic characters too thinly-drawn to provide the context for Bevan's fire. I also thought the staging too convoluted and the whole thing too long at 2h45 (on the night I was there). But then, I'm not a fan of Dr Who either... Great acting by Sheen though, who is virtually never off the stage.

For a comparison, Trevor Griffiths's play "Food for Ravens", starring Brian Cox, from 1997 is on iPlayer. The structure is remarkably similar to Tim Price's play, structured around Bevan on his deathbed remembering incidents from his past - some of them identical to those in the new play. I don't have the NT programme to hand, but it would be interesting if "Food for Ravens" is mentioned as inspiring this play...

[bordeaux]

The usual three stars from the Arifa Akbar in the Guardian - and reading the review, that sounds generous, as if she wanted to like the play more than she did because of who Bevan was.

[bordeaux]

Four from the FT and Telegraph, three from the Evening Standard, Time Out and Whatsonstage.

[joem]

Anyone interested in Bevan should read Michael Foot's magisterial biography of him. But you have to be interested, it's extremely long.

Managed to get tickets for this, thought I was going to miss it. Not a fan of Sheen's offstage utterances and when I've seen him on stage his performances have been a mixed bag, but the subject interests me although I have a suspicion this will be worthy rather than exciting.

[gcbf]

Does anyone know how high the stage is for this? I've got front row seats this coming week - for Dancing at Lughnasa last year that wasn't a problem, but on Seatplan it looks like it can be an issue for other shows at the Olivier.

[thistimetomorrow]

Mar 8, 2024 14:02:04 GMT gcbf said:

Does anyone know how high the stage is for this? I've got front row seats this coming week

It's not too bad! I was row C and the actors were just above eye level.

[gcbf]

Mar 8, 2024 14:34:15 GMT thistimetomorrow said:

Mar 8, 2024 14:02:04 GMT gcbf said:

Does anyone know how high the stage is for this? I've got front row seats this coming week

It's not too bad! I was row C and the actors were just above eye level.

Perfect, thanks

[stevemar]

I really enjoyed this. Whilst the storytelling was not the strongest, personally I was absorbed throughout. Naturally, the parallels of the NHS then and now were clear.

It still moved me at the end, even though Michael Sheen had been given far more “speech making” than in depth interactions even with his sister, wife and father. There was a missed opportunity in terms of those relationships.

The theatricality of the piece with the use of the large cast to create movement was excellent and projections, similarly to how these methods were well-employed to fill the Olivier stage by Rufus Norris in Small Island and many years ago, Market Boy.

8/10.

PS. Even the use of curtains contrasted favourably to Player Kings!

[n1david]

I was doubtful about this when I saw it at the NT, but it was still in previews when I saw it and I was at the show that Sheen refers to in the New Statesman this weekend:

At a recent show, we had three instances of people needing to be helped out of the theatre, the final one forcing us to pause the show moments from its end. Thankfully, it was nothing more serious than someone fainting. But emotions are running high.

The show stop was unfortunate as it was literally when Nye was on his deathbed, so it did rather ruin the moment.
I'm giving it another go in Cardiff when it comes to the Millennium Centre - will be interesting to see it much later in its life and with a different audience.

www.newstatesman.com/diary/2024/03/bringing-revolution-to-port-talbot