After The Applause

I first saw Nye when it debuted in the Olivier Theatre in 2024, with Michael Sheen in the titular role. I was so excited to see it when it was first announced, and when I did it firmly secured itself in the top 3 shows I saw that year!. Such a bold and moving production with a joyful cast, and a show that was a real crowd pleaser with its intuitive set and fabulous wit weaved throughout.

So I assume when Rufus Norris was carefully selecting the pieces for his final season at the National, he seized the opportunity to re-run it in hope of emulating its previous success (similar to Dear England). As a huge fan of the original production I couldn’t wait to witness it again, but was it as good as I remember?

In short, yes it absolutely was!

Nye is a play you have to settle into, as it is the story of an actual person’s life you expect it to maybe have a more serious tone as it addresses the difficult upbringing and the hard fought rise of Bevan. However Price goes for something a bit unorthodox, Nye is set whilst Bevan is in hospital in the final days of his life. As he sits in the hospital he helped found, dosed up on drugs and painkillers he drifts off into a strange dream that relives his whole entire life from his evil teacher (who attacks him with long walking sticks) to a library where he floats to go and collect books. Bear in mind Sheen (who reprised his role in the re-run as did most of the original cast) does all of this whilst dressed in stripy pyjamas! The tone is confusing but it is light and definitely dream like as we drift out of the past and back into the present with darting lights designed by Paule Constable and muffled confusing sound by Donato Wharton. The first half focuses on his upbringing, his difficult relationship with his father dying from black lung and his long struggle with unemployment that then led him into politics as the MP for Ebw Vale. One of the funniest scenes is his first council meeting where he and his friends question the current counsellors and eventually it ends with the chairman announcing him as MP and then the lights turn to purple and Sheen begins singing ‘Get Happy’. An utterly bizarre moment yet so perfect in every way!

I love the set design by Vicki Mortimer, it is essentially 5 curtains that lower and raise and are pulled and adjusted. We go from being in a bustling hospital to the green curtains then being utilised as the seats in the House Of Commons. It is really clever and definitely fits in with the trance like feeling of the play. Additionally there is superb choreography (especially in the library scene and the meeting scenes) by Steven Hoggett and Jess Williams that utilises every single member of the 25 strong cast, which really is a feat! They do prolonged movement sequences with cups of tea and then carry Nye to his final moments of life. I was really impressed with some of the additional sequences in this run that weren’t present originally. Projection onto the curtains is used superbly especially in the darker parts of Nye’s dream but also when he meets with the doctors as their distorted faces stare down on him. Jon Driscoll’s designs are very clean, and I especially enjoy when Nye is taking his first steps as Minister of Health and Housing and we see people cleverly emerge from the screen to beg Bevan to help them.

Now onto this wonderfully talented cast, if I could name all of them I would but the ensemble do a wonderful job at acting out each moment of Nye’s life and have to go through many quick changes and shifts from one character to the other. What I notice is that every member looks like they are having fun and enjoying what they are a part of. Community within a cast is central to a good production and Nye obviously has a great sense because so many of the original gang are back! My highlights (bar 2 actors, we’ll get on to them) are Nicholas Khan as a stuck up interpretation of Neville Chamberlain, Stephanie Jacob as Clement Attlee who never stands up but rolls around on a joystick control desk (this show is literally a fever dream), Jon Furlong as a petulant deputy PM, Herbert Morrison who literally tries to muffle Nye with a pillow when he attempts to announce his health bill, and Sharon Small who returns with her strong performance as Nye’s loving wife and fellow politician Jennie Lee.

Now the two that steal the show for me is obviously Mr Sheen but also Tony Jayawardena as Winston Churchill. Now I am a big fan of Tony from seeing him in Ackley Bridge and also watching him on stage as George Khan in East is East but this is by far his best performance. He is just so funny as Churchill and his mannerisms are so perfectly acted throughout, he got such a loud cheer at the end and it is certainly well deserved he commands the stage when he is on and sometimes momentarily steals it from Nye as he tries to get him to back down from his constant criticism.

However, Michael Sheen is just sensational. He is funny, charming and just simply captivating. He shows each emotion of Nye as he goes from happiness to sadness to triumph at the end and he takes the audience on this wonderful theatrical journey. This is role that Sheen loves and you can see that at the end, as he smiles up at the audience (all standing and cheering enthusiastically). The final scene in which he holds his father’s hand and asks ‘did I help everyone’ had me in tears, such a contrast to the state of laughter I was in just a scene earlier. Sheen relishes in the comic moments but is perfection in the poignant ones and that is the final ingredient in this wonderful production.

MY VERDICT:

Sorry that was a bit of a long one! but I can’t recommend Nye enough, it is just the definition of a production that doesn’t take itself seriously and is really the perfect day out at the theatre. Go for the story, the lighting, the set, the cast, the humour and the powerful messages as well. It has everything you would want and more and I have to say it is still one of my favourite productions and I am sure it will stay that way. Price tells Nye’s story in such an unusual way but that is what makes it such a superb show. I’ve seen it twice but i would quite like to see it thrice! Go and watch it, I assure you, you will not regret it!!