Nye Tickets

Nye in London

Celebrate the life and legacy of a political pioneer as Michael Sheen reprises his performance in Nye at the National Theatre on the South Bank of the Thames. Following its sold-out world premiere in 2024, this powerful play about Aneurin Bevan - the man who transformed Britain’s welfare state - returns to the Olivier stage for a strictly limited season.

What is the play Nye about?

From the coalfield to the creation of the NHS, Aneurin Bevan (also known as Nye) knew how to put up a fight. As his death comes closer, he retreats into his memories and takes audiences on a journey back through time.

Through flashbacks from Nye’s hospital bed, this wild and wonderful Welsh fantasia moves from underground mining to Parliament via fights with Churchill… and finally, lands on his greatest achievement: the creation of the National Health Service.

Michael Sheen in Nye

BAFTA and Olivier Award-nominated Welsh actor Michael Sheen stars as Nye Bevan, reprising his role from the play’s premiere in spring 2024. Sheen is no stranger to portraying significant figures from modern history, having played Tony Blair in The Deal and The Queen, David Frost in Frost/Nixon and Brian Clough in The Damned United. In recent years, he has also earned acclaim in Good Omens and Staged - both opposite David Tennant. On stage, he has appeared in dramas including Hamlet and Under Milk Wood.

Critics have praised Sheen’s “tremendous” (Time Out) and “lightning in a bottle” (Broadway World) performance as Nye Bevan, which brings a “playfulness and vulnerability” (The Guardian) to this surreal biopic.

Creative Team

Nye at the National Theatre is written by Tim Price (Protest Song) and directed by the venue’s outgoing Artistic Director Rufus Norris (London Road, Small Island). With their talented creative team, this production is an “otherwordly” (Time Out) take on the biopic genre that mixes affecting realism with the absurdism of Nye’s dreams - it’s a “moving and totally relevant” (Mail on Sunday) triumph that celebrates one of the biggest moments in Britain’s history.

Book Tickets for Nye at the National Theatre

Michael Sheen shines in this “valiant and valuable affirmation of the NHS” (The Telegraph) that raises a glass to one of the greatest politicians the UK has ever seen. Celebrate a defining moment in history, and a first-rate performance, with tickets to Nye in London.