Review: THE PROMISE, Minerva Theatre, Chichester

"To promise nearly fifty million people truly universal health care - ‘cradle to the grave’ - is crackers." Despite this quote featuring quite prominently in promotional material, and the poster image showing a pair of midwives, The Promise isn’t wholly about the founding of the NHS. Paul Unwin’s new play instead depicts the rise of Clement Attlee’s Labour Party in the wake of the Second World War, and their attempts to create unity and growth in the years that follow.

Beginning in 1945, with the Labour conference voting to oppose the National Government and trigger a general election, there are the usual political machinations going on behind the scenes; Attlee isn’t seen as a natural leader (more content bowling googlies in cricket matches with his children), and Herbert Morrison is desperate to take his place. He misses his opportunity, however, and Labour win the election by a landslide. But how do they make the changes the country so desperately needs when there’s one economic crisis after another..?

It’s undoubtedly a timely topic, given that 2024 was always going to be an election year with a probable Labour victory - not to mention the ongoing crisis within the NHS after a decade of underfunding and mismanagement. Ultimately, it’s a little over-ambitious in its scope and doesn’t give a huge amount of insight into the social history, instead leaning too heavily on the relationship between Wilkinson and Morrison.

There are some excruciatingly long scenes, which mostly consist of politicians bickering - haven’t we had enough of that in real life over the past few years? It is quite exhausting to watch the characters go round and round in circles, arguing about the same things over and over again. It’s not always well presented either - for example, there is a protracted scene about putting the manifesto together with little hope of winning, and all of a sudden the next scene shows the election done and dusted with a Labour victory. Zero tension is generated in that moment.

It’s altogether too dry and lacking in real drama or creativity. Inevitably I found myself contrasting it with The National Theatre’s Nye, which had surreal elements and imaginative casting to make it feel fresh; The Promise plays it very safe in comparison.

Joanna Parker’s minimalist set design (using projections designed by Peter Mumford) is good in theory, however in practice the automation is rather clunky. The five-minute show stop in the first act may well be a one-off moment, although the backdrop did look quite precarious when it subsequently needed to be raised again - and if the backstage crew can’t do things quietly during a scene, it would be useful to have some sort of backing music or louder sound effects to draw attention away from them.

Ellen Wilkinson and Nye Bevan are by far the most interesting characters in the play, and Clare Burt and Richard Harrington portray them superbly. Burt brings Wilkinson’s physical frailties and inner strength together in a compelling performance, leaving you in no doubt as to why most of the men in the cabinet simply wanted to shut her out. In Harrington’s version of Bevan, we see the human behind the politician; passion, humour and determination make him an engaging figure.

It’s definitely a worthwhile subject to be platforming - if nothing else, it shows how much of our ‘universal’ care has already been lost, and how vital it is to protect and restore what we can. Paul Unwin’s execution of this story will appeal to those who like their plays straight down the line, but may leave others unsatisfied.

The Promise is at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester until 17 August

Photo credit: Helen Murray

To post a comment, you must register and login.