The end is Nye, in Newport

In 2019, Welsh actor Michael Sheen sold both of his houses to fund a charity event to help the homeless in his home country. This act set him up perfectly to portray Aneurin “Nye” Bevan, the man who transformed Britain’s welfare state.

Take a surreal and spectacular journey through Bevan’s life and legacy in the live-recorded London performance of “Nye,” on screen at Newport Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, March 5.

From campaigning at the coalfield to leading the battle to create the National Health Service, Bevan is often referred to as the politician with greatest influence on Britain without ever having been prime minister. Confronted with death, his deepest memories lead him on a mind-bending journey back through his life, from childhood to mining underground, Parliament and fights with Churchill in an epic Welsh fantasia.

“Sheen is a delight as the fiery but unassuming Bevan,” said Andrzej Lukowski, theatre editor for Time Out. “He never at any point changes out of his red striped pajamas, a pleasingly absurdist touch at the heart of Norris’s stylish production, in which the green hospital ward repeatedly dissolves into the past to the sound of wheezing lungs.”

Viewers should note that this production contains strobe-effect lighting and the use of strong language.

The March 5 screening begins at 7 pm at the Newport Performing Arts Center, located at 777 W Olive Street. Tickets are $16 to $22. For more information, go to coastarts.org or call 541-265-2787.