THE MAGIC OF perfect storytelling should never be limited by the substance of a story itself. Take the politics and bureaucracy, the philosophical debates and history of Britain’s National Health System (NHS). Who would have suspected that this potentially dull and wordy narrative complicated by side-taking and social values could be rendered a nail-biting bit of magnificence that will leave you wanting to give a standing ovation in the confines of the cinema, whatever your opinion of NHS rhetoric? Written by Tim Price, with Michael Sheen in the title role, Nye, which is screened by the National Theatre Live, in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town this week, offers an understanding of the brilliance of the breed of entertainment that is both theatre and film, simultaneously.

Celebrated as the 100th live screened film in this new genre that has effectively enabled you, armed with just a movie ticket, to have front row seats at London’s most wonderful theatres, Nye is a perfect choice – not to say a prescient one – for South African audiences.

It was in 1948 that Welsh son of a coal miner and self-styled leftist politician Aneurin “Nye” Bevan gave Britain’s NHS life, which promised to completely democratise its health care. This film is about the moral and financial complexities of such a system, but also the back story of the man and his values. And yes: That description alone might make you yawn fulsomely. But fear not. You will be glued to the unfolding story, nary a moment of blurring or pompous language. You will laugh. You will cry. You will effortlessly understand the flaws of the idealism and the viciousness of the wit.

This play is about social protest and parliamentary fights, about a man bearing the insult of a rutting reindeer, antlers and all. It’s about being helplessly on call at an indigent parent’s deathbed at home, as it confronts educational bullying and the love of a school mate. It offers one of the most profound understandings of a death scene that you may experience on a live stage, and interpretations of iconic figures such as Bevan himself, Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain that will knock your socks off – not for the physical resemblance, but for the wisdom and sophistication of their performances.

As Sheen in a distinctive coif and red striped pyjamas, appropriately constructed as an eternal patient, contorts his face in the contemplation of consonants which were difficult to articulate smoothly for Bevan, who was a stutterer, you can empathise. These facial expressions are about the inner dialogue of one with a speech defect, fighting the fight of potential embarrassment at so many turns.

Set on a stage that is split into four consecutive depths, the whole play is premised, from a design perspective on the trope of hospitals which came of the Edwardian era, where nurses’ uniforms were a riff on that of nuns, cubicle curtains separated everything, decorum was an issue and medical specialisation was in its infancy. The work focuses in part on Bevan’s audacity in challenging – and eventually winning over – the most notoriously conservative industry in the world – the doctors, to be aware of moral values and to be answerable to government dictates.

Like that of Jane Eyre, staged a few years ago by the National Theatre Live, Nye is brought to the heights of hilarity, surprise and above all clarity with an impeccable sense of timing, brilliant use of props and exceptionally wise choreography, which will grab you by your eyeballs, with your mind attached. It’s an incredibly messy history which reflects on social beings and their selfishness as much as it does on idealism that can never really hold sway.

Here, a bed containing a patient can turn into a podium for confrontation between Tory and Labour factions. Here, audiovisual elements are blended with live performers in a way that evokes a crowd like a magical and moving sleight of hand, all the while, seamlessly segueing sound with gesture and story.

It seems anachronous to be able to construct a poem to bureaucracy, or a song to political detail, without leaning heavily on one side or another. In this extraordinary work, the whole National Theatre Live team have created a masterpiece which is at once balanced, educational and enticing, entertaining and horrifying, but above all, clear. It’s an absolutely compulsory work to experience.

• Nye is directed by Rufus Norris and performed by Remy Beasley, Matthew Bulgo, Dyfan Dwyfor, Roger Evans, Ross Foley, Jon Furlong, Daniel Hawksford, Bea Holland, Stephanie Jacob, Kezrena James, Tony Jayawardena, Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Michael Keane, Nicholas Khan, Rebecca Killick, Mark Matthews, Rhodri Meilir, Ashley Mejri, Lee Mengo, David Monteith, Mali O’Donnell, Sara Otung, Michael Sheen and Sharon Small. Written by Tim Price, it is produced by Pádraig Cusack, and features creative input by Will Stuart (composer), Chloe Blake and Alastair Coomer (casting), Vicki Mortimer (production), Kinnetia Isidore (costumes), Jon Driscoll (projection) and Michelle MacMillan (wardrobe). Originally performed at the Olivier Theatre in London, it is being broadcast by National Theatre Live in South Africa at Cinema Nouveau in Rosebank, Brooklyn Commercial in Pretoria, Gateway Commercial in Durban and the V&A Ster Kinekor in Cape Town, on 4 and 5 December 2024.