Writer: James Graham
Director: Rupert Goold
Of course, James Graham’s play, now on tour after successful runs at the National Theatre and the West End, is more than about football. It’s about the nation and how it sees itself in the 21st century, still nostalgic for the good old days of 1966 when the men’s football team last lifted the World Cup. Whether it comes home this year from North America is yet to be known, but Dear England suggests that the football squad, and, by extension, the mountains green, are in a better state than they have been for decades.
However, the play starts with a defeat: Gareth Southgate’s missed penalty in 1996. Full of nerves and with no game plan from the manager at the time, Southgate is haunted by his kick that saw the ball easily deflected by the German goalkeeper. And yet, he was mature enough that it never defined him afterwards, even though the tabloids and fans gave him a lashing. When he’s given the dubious honour of becoming caretaker manager of England in 2016, he decides to fix the team’s abysmal record in penalty shootouts by bringing in a sports psychologist.
Dr Pippa Grange (a brilliant low-key Samantha Womack) encourages the men to discuss their fears and the weight of expectations: Stormzy’s lyrics “heavy is the head that wears the crown” are heard at one point. To much eye-rolling by the players, she also insists that they keep a journal. This feminine approach seems like an affront to some of the players.
Meanwhile, Southgate (a laconic David Sturzaker, in the best tradition of understated English heroes) is determined to make the team cohesive by stopping the players from congregating in groups based on their home teams and insisting that everyone, including the coaches and the physios, eat meals together. Southgate is also forced to confront the racism that the Black players receive from the stands.
There is plenty of comedy amidst the soul-searching, from the choice of Southgate’s waistcoat to the parodies of prime ministers (Courtney George’s take on Theresa May is particularly entertaining). And it’s exciting, too, when the penalty shootouts at Russia’s World Cup and the Euro Final at Wembley in 2021 are reimagined for the stage. It is pure theatre, and the huge ring of light above the stage could be a modern take on Shakespeare’s wooden O.
The football players themselves are largely presented as nice guys, if occasionally a little dim-witted. Oscar Gough’s innocent and modest Harry Kane parallels Southgate’s own journey as accidental saviour, while Jack Maddison is full of testosterone as goalie Jordan Pickford. Liam Prince-Donnelley is a delightful bundle of fun as the up-for-anything Dele Alli.
While using Graham’s updated script from 2025 to chart the end of Southgate’s career as England manager, perhaps more could be said about the abuse of Marcus Rashford (Jayden Hanley), Jadon Sancho (Kadell Herida) and Bukayo Saka (Jass Beki) received after their penalty shootouts in 2021 and the plan to wear LGBTQ+ OneLove armbands in Qatar in 2024 is rushed in this production. It appears that Graham presumes the audience will have prior knowledge of both incidents, but we all know how short our memories are.
Perhaps there will be a revised version after the World Cup this year, but without Southgate, the story may lack a hero. Until then, England still seeks victory in the same way it still seeks to understand itself.
Runs until 28 February and continues to tour
