The National Health (play)

The National Health; or, Nurse Norton's Affair is a satirical dark comedy play by Peter Nichols. It premiered at the National Theatre in London in 1969.

The play juxtaposes two storylines: a television hospital drama called "Appleby Medical Centre," and the mundane realities of a ward within a National Health Service hospital. The television scenes parody popular medical dramas, with melodramatic plotlines and stock characters. In contrast, the ward scenes are characterized by the grimness of illness, the boredom of long hospital stays, the incompetence of some staff, and the patients' anxieties and frustrations. The play uses these contrasting worlds to critique the NHS, media representations of healthcare, and societal attitudes towards illness, death, and aging.

Recurring themes include the dehumanizing effects of institutional care, the commodification of healthcare, the unglamorous reality of medical practice versus its romanticized portrayal in popular culture, and the patients' struggles to maintain their dignity and individuality in the face of illness and bureaucracy. The play is known for its sharp wit, biting satire, and unflinching portrayal of the human condition.