Even allowing for a suitable dose of scepticism about the operation of British soft power — NT Live is, after all, a neat vehicle for reinforcing the centrality of Britain to the performing arts globally — this is a milestone for all theatre lovers to celebrate. NT Live is a uniquely enjoyable viewing experience (especially on the big screen) and has enabled millions of people around the world to watch brilliant shows that they would not otherwise have seen.
As one of the talking heads in a short promotional video shown at interval said, there is a particular resonance to Nye bringing up the NT Live century: here we have “art for all” affirming the great accomplishment of Bevan’s life, which was “healthcare for all”. He established the UK’s National Health Service in 1948 as the central pillar in his vision for a welfare state that would provide dignity and opportunity to every citizen, regardless of socioeconomic status.
Bevan grew up in the mining town of Tredegar, where his early experiences in a community defined almost entirely by its coalfields exposed him both to the injustices of class stratification and to the power of collective action. As he progressed from miner to unionist to Labour Party MP, Bevan gave voice to his socialist convictions, making him a strident critic of Conservative Party governments under Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill.
After World War 2, Labour won a landslide victory and Clement Attlee gave Bevan a poisoned chalice by making him minister of health and housing. But Bevan grabbed the opportunity, launching the NHS despite stiff opposition and asserting that healthcare should be provided “based on clinical need and not on the ability to pay”.
Sheen plays a charismatic but vulnerable Bevan in a beautifully staged ensemble production that expands from its hospital setting to depict key episodes in his life. In this deathbed fantasia, medical paraphernalia transform into imaginative props and costumes as we learn of the hero’s personal struggles and shortcomings. He was no saint. Still, Nye is an unabashed celebration of his political credentials and the magnificent achievement of the NHS.
Universal healthcare must surely be one of the ambitions of any nation that seeks to call itself, even in idealistic or theoretical terms, “civilised”. In SA, debates about the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act have hinged largely on the barriers presented by corruption, maladministration and incompetence. One wonders what Bevan might have said to those opposed to the NHI on these grounds.
I implore my fellow medical aid-covered, upper-middle-class citizens to watch Nye with our local context in mind. Yes, the NHI seems unworkable because of government ineptitude and malfeasance. But isn’t one of the main motivations to fix the state precisely so that we can have dignified and compassionate healthcare for all?
This column originally appeared in Business Day.
CHRIS THURMAN: Can SA find a way to stream health to all?
Nye’ is about British MP Aneurin Bevan, who established the UK’s National Health Service
Image: Johan Persson
The SA State Theatre has launched SAST TV, a video streaming platform promising to “bring the magic of live theatre directly into homes across SA and beyond”. This is a welcome initiative, though its success will depend on the polish of the filmed product (and the marketing engine to promote it) and the primary theatrical product. Opinions in the performing arts sector about the state theatre’s capacity to achieve a consistently high standard are mixed.
Further questions remain: will SAST TV generate revenue that will support new work? Or will it be a subsidised drain on already limited state arts funding? Who decides which shows get filmed? Can other theatres benefit from the film-making and streaming infrastructure?
Nevertheless, the principle of art for all (or at least, in this case, making theatre accessible to a wider audience) is one that I want to endorse. There is certainly a market for the stage-and-screen hybrid form: witness the success of the UK’s National Theatre Live (NT Live) model, which celebrated its 100th production broadcast this year with Nye. The filmed version of Nye, which stars Michael Sheen in the role of Welsh politician Aneurin “Nye” Bevan, is also the final instalment in Ster-Kinekor’s 2024 NT Live season and will be on cinema screens around SA from November 30 to December 5.
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Even allowing for a suitable dose of scepticism about the operation of British soft power — NT Live is, after all, a neat vehicle for reinforcing the centrality of Britain to the performing arts globally — this is a milestone for all theatre lovers to celebrate. NT Live is a uniquely enjoyable viewing experience (especially on the big screen) and has enabled millions of people around the world to watch brilliant shows that they would not otherwise have seen.
As one of the talking heads in a short promotional video shown at interval said, there is a particular resonance to Nye bringing up the NT Live century: here we have “art for all” affirming the great accomplishment of Bevan’s life, which was “healthcare for all”. He established the UK’s National Health Service in 1948 as the central pillar in his vision for a welfare state that would provide dignity and opportunity to every citizen, regardless of socioeconomic status.
Bevan grew up in the mining town of Tredegar, where his early experiences in a community defined almost entirely by its coalfields exposed him both to the injustices of class stratification and to the power of collective action. As he progressed from miner to unionist to Labour Party MP, Bevan gave voice to his socialist convictions, making him a strident critic of Conservative Party governments under Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill.
After World War 2, Labour won a landslide victory and Clement Attlee gave Bevan a poisoned chalice by making him minister of health and housing. But Bevan grabbed the opportunity, launching the NHS despite stiff opposition and asserting that healthcare should be provided “based on clinical need and not on the ability to pay”.
Sheen plays a charismatic but vulnerable Bevan in a beautifully staged ensemble production that expands from its hospital setting to depict key episodes in his life. In this deathbed fantasia, medical paraphernalia transform into imaginative props and costumes as we learn of the hero’s personal struggles and shortcomings. He was no saint. Still, Nye is an unabashed celebration of his political credentials and the magnificent achievement of the NHS.
Universal healthcare must surely be one of the ambitions of any nation that seeks to call itself, even in idealistic or theoretical terms, “civilised”. In SA, debates about the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act have hinged largely on the barriers presented by corruption, maladministration and incompetence. One wonders what Bevan might have said to those opposed to the NHI on these grounds.
I implore my fellow medical aid-covered, upper-middle-class citizens to watch Nye with our local context in mind. Yes, the NHI seems unworkable because of government ineptitude and malfeasance. But isn’t one of the main motivations to fix the state precisely so that we can have dignified and compassionate healthcare for all?
This column originally appeared in Business Day.
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