To celebrate 70 years of the NHS, The Old Vic will be hosting The Greatest Wealth – a collection of monologues curated by Lolita Chakrabarti – later this month. And today, the cast has been announced.
Taking to the stage will be Jade Anouka (Shakespeare Trilogy (Donmar Warehouse)), Louise English (All the Fun of the Fair (Garrick Theatre)), Dervla Kirwan (The Weir and Betrayal (Donmar Warehouse)), Ruth Madeley (TV’s The Rook), Art Malik (Aliens (Soho Theatre)), Meera Syal (Much Ado About Nothing (Royal Shakespeare Company)), Sophie Stone (Jubilee (Lyric Hammersmith), and David Threlfall (Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Ambassadors Theatre)). They will perform monologues written by Lolita herself, as well as Moira Buffini, Seiriol Davies, Matilda Ibini, Courttia Newland, Jack Thorne, and Paul Unwin.
Each monologue will be in response to a decade since Aneurin Bevan launched the NHS at Park Hospital, Manchester, in 1948. It will discuss the past, present and future of a great system that supports each and one of the UK’s residents.
Lolita’s husband, Adrian Lester, is directing the performances which are taking place on 25, 26 and 29 June.
The Greatest Wealth is part of The Old Vic’s Bicentennial One Voice season which is celebrating key and noteworthy anniversaries that fall within its 200th year. The One Voice series is funded by the TS Eliot Estate and celebrates the rawest theatre form: a single voice on a stage without scenery and with nothing to rely on but words.
For the full line-up, see below:
The NHS from the 1940s-1970s: Monday 25 June, 8.30pm
The NHS from the 1980s-present: Tuesday 26 June, 8.30pm
The NHS from the 1940s-present (double bill): Friday 29 June, 8pm
The performances will be live sign language interpreted in British Sign Language (BSL).
Breakdown:
1940s: Boo, by Jack Thorne, performed by Sophie Stone
1950s: At The Point of Need, by Paul Unwin, performed by David Threlfall
1960s: Rivers, written and performed by Meera Syal
1970s: Sister Susan by Moira Buffini, performed by Dervla Kirwan
1980s: Speedy Gonzales by Lolita Chakrabarti, performed by Art Malik
1990s: Family Room, by Courttia Newland, performed by Jade Anouka
2000s: Choice & Control, by Matilda Ibini, performed by Ruth Madeley
2010s: The Nuchess, by Seiriol Davies, performed by Louise English
Each evening will also include music performed by Gloria Obianyo.
To get tickets and find out more information, head to The Old Vic website.