The Old Vic to celebrate 70 years of the NHS with new series of monologues

Lolita Chakrabarti will curate a performance celebrating 70 years of the NHS this summer at the Old Vic in London.

Directed by Adrian Lester, the performance, entitled The Greatest Wealth, will be composed of eight specially-chosen monologues, written by Moira Buffini, Lolita Chakrabarti, Seiriol Davies, Matilda Ibini, Courttia Newland, Meera Syal, Jack Thorne and Paul Unwin. The monologues will respond to each decade since the NHS was first launched in Manchester in 1948.

The series of monologues will be presented in two parts on 25 and 26 June, before being performed all together as a double bill on Friday 29 June.

The Old Vic is offering 70 tickets per performance priced at five pounds for NHS workers (ten pounds for the Friday double bill). The performances will be live sign language interpreted in British Sign Language (BSL).

The Greatest Wealth is part of the One Voice initiative, reflecting on important anniversaries that occur during the Old Vic's 200th birthday year. The initiative was started with One Hand Tied Behind Us, a set of monologues curated by Maxine Peake to mark 100 years since the first women were given the right to vote, and will continue later this year with an anniversary performance celebrating a century since the end of the First World War.

Casting for The Greatest Wealth is to be announced.