“the national health” 1970 directed by michael blakemore old vic, london

reviewer frank rich new york times

as the play began, a curly-haired scarecrow of an actor danced out onto the stage and proceeded to do an outrageous vaudeville routine about cadavers and bedpans, about doctors and death. wearing an oversize orderly’s smock he darted all over the set pinching nurses and twirling hospital carts, lobbing his lines like hand grenades into every pocket of the theatre. and improbable as it sounds he made his macabre spiel seem funny. in a matter of minutes a grim national health ward started to look like a circus. the audience knew that it was in the presence of a galvanic talent. his name – i committed it to memory at once – was jim dale

reviewer b.a. young, financial times

“then there is the incomparable jim dale as barnet, the ward orderly who occasionally steps out of character to act as chorus.
i’m not sure mr. dale isn’t the best comic actor we have.”