Dear England – National Theatre, London

Writer: James Graham

Director: Rupert Goold

It’s never easy to step onto a national stage to take your place in a chain of others who have come before you, and in the revival of James Graham’s Dear England which returns to the National Theatre ahead of a UK tour, the cast faces the same pressure as the football players they represent: how to live up to the history of those who came before – in this case to the phenomenon that this Olivier Award-winning play has become. Promised a new ending to reflect England’s experience in the Euros 2024 and Gareth Southgate’s subsequent resignation, the relatively minor revisions to Graham’s play place greater emphasis on storytelling as the football team and the nation strive for culture change.

Appointed as England football manager on a temporary basis following a series of defeats, no one thinks Gareth Southgate’s gentle methods will keep him in the job for long. But the hiring of Pippa Grange and a focus on team dynamics, self-control and managing the weight of expectations placed on the young players lead to some quick wins and a permanent contract for Southgate. But as the tournaments come and go, can his methods win England a trophy?

Unlike Graham’s version of Southgate who tries to steer his team away from rushing to the end of the story without properly exploring the beginning and middle, the new ending for Dear England is the most significant alteration to the text in response to changing events since its premier in 2023. Much of what happens at the Euros is summarised in montage, creating space for Graham’s bittersweet tribute to Southgate’s time in charge, a chance to hear his successor reel off some facts about his enviable achievements and for the fictionalised players to huddle for a tearful goodbye. It is a more sentimental conclusion and perhaps a less raucously hopeful one, but it does feed into a shift in the storytelling perspective as Southgate concludes there are no beginnings and endings, only the need to keep stepping up.

The changes made elsewhere in this near three-hour drama re-emphasise the players’ role in changing national and sporting narratives. “We are all storytellers now” Southgate tells them, underpinning the existing reflections on national pride and opportunity to embrace the reality of contemporary Britain. What it means to live in and represent England is essential to the unpicking of identities that Graham undertakes in Dear England, trying to shake off or at least accept that the idea of nationhood and its reality have come apart, so Southgate’s team and the country have an opportunity to create something new, more inclusive and more honest in its place.

And in that respect, Dear England is as great and significant as it ever was with Rupert Goold’s production firing along on Es Devlin’s circular set that transforms from locker rooms to those big national and international stages that the players must conquer. Ash J. Woodward’s video design helps to create some of those locations, display plenty of facts as well as nostalgic footage from 60 years of footballing pleasure and pain that build the context around Southgate’s approach and the pressure felt by the players.

Gwilym Lee takes over the role of Southgate from originating cast member Jospeh Fiennes, and finds the same gentle tone and soft authority, capturing the character’s mannerisms but finding depth in the ongoing impact of the penalty miss that haunts him throughout, never fully committing to Pippa’s (Liz White) methods as a result. Ryan Whittle also steps into the pivotal role of Harry Kane (replacing Olivier winner Will Close), leaning into the same initial humour but also developing a respect among this largely new team of players who Southgate actively tries to empower during his time in charge.

Whether the football team can ever win a major tournament will remain a possibility, but for fans all over the country they can relive Southgate’s story with this new revival in London and then Salford, a UK tour starting in the autumn and a BBC drama in the works. The story of Dear England certainly isn’t over so maybe England’s new story is only just beginning as well.

Runs until24 May 2025 and then at The Lowry, Salford from 29 May to 29 June