In some respects, this isn’t a play that’s meant to work. Those who follow football know the key events in the storyline anyway. As for those who don’t, well, do they care? And would they book tickets to something that is, according to the show’s programme, “a fictionalised account of the struggles and successes of England’s football teams, based on extensive research and interviews”? It is not, frankly, too much of a spoiler that the men’s England national football team have been somewhat lacking in terms of additions to the silverware cabinet. The acknowledgement of the achievements of the women’s England national football team, particularly winning the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022, is too short and stingy in this production, almost begrudging, almost jealous.
Then again, it isn’t a play wholly about football: if it were, there would be a lot more discussion and dissection of tactics and strategies. As it is, the question ‘why did we lose?’ – which would crop up sooner or later in a given tournament, is not so much given broad brushstrokes as answers but barely answered, if at all, in the first place. Fair enough: there are no words to console players who have worked diligently both on and off the field only to lose by way of a penalty shootout. The show includes commentary from the likes of Gary Lineker (Gunnar Cauthery) but I note with interest it doesn’t extend to explaining the best and most accurate (in my humble opinion) the main reason for losing the final of UEFA Euro 2024, given by none other than Gareth Southgate – Spain were the best team in the tournament, and therefore deserved to win.
The play, then, is guilty of the very same kind of fear that psychologist Pippa Grange (Liz White) suggests the play’s version of Southgate (Gwilym Lee) continues to suffer from – namely, he hasn’t fully moved on from ‘that’ moment in UEFA Euro 1996, which in turn is a possible reason why the team he managed until very recently still can’t overcome their inability to win on penalties. Whether one agrees with Grange on this or any of the other points she raises during the show, there are some intriguing observations from both her and Southgate on how sport can and should be used to lift the spirits of the nation.
The teambuilding techniques evidently had some success in terms of results, and the play’s assertions about how it worked behind the scenes kept the momentum going in a show whose characters were largely quite vanilla. Indeed, the best thing about observing Josh Barrow’s Jordan Pickford was that he did have bouts of yelling and aggression – hurrah for a demonstration of personality! It says something when Felixe Forde’s Theresa May, not exactly remembered for charisma, appears to have more gusto than many of the players.
While the emphasis is on the narrative, a decent attempt was made to recreate a stadium atmosphere, and the production values are very high. Since I last saw the show at the National, it’s been to the West End and back across the Thames to the South Bank – the backdrops, videos and imagery have been jazzed up accordingly. This revised version plays to the gallery even more than the original. So what? It’s a crowd-pleaser, whilst acknowledging the individual and collective pains, not only of the players but of their supporters. In the end, the dramatic tension is there, and so is the enthusiasm and dedication of those committed to the beautiful game.
Review by Chris Omaweng
The country that gave the world football has since delivered a painful pattern of loss. Why can’t England’s men win at their own game?
The team has the worst track record for penalties in the world, and manager Gareth Southgate knows he needs to open his mind and face up to the years of hurt to take team and country back to the promised land.
CAST in alphabetical order
Mike Webster – Matt Bardock
Jordan Pickford – Josh Barrow
Marcus Rashford – Jude Carmichael
Gary Lineker / Sven-Göran Eriksson / Thomas Tuchel / Boris Johnson – Gunnar Cauthery
Raheem Sterling – Gamba Cole
Harry Maguire – Ryan Donaldson
Alex Scott / Roxanne / Theresa May – Felixe Forde
Kieron Trippier / Jadon Sancho – Kadell Herida
Jordan Henderson – Joshua Hill
Greg Clarke / Gianni Infantino / Matt Le Tissier / Vicar – John Hodgkinson
Eric Dier – Tom Lane
Gareth Southgate – Gwilym Lee
Sam Allardyce / Physio Phil / Fabio Capello / Panama Manager – Martin Marquez
Bukayo Saka – Tane Siah
Greg Dyke / Steve Holland / Graham Taylor – Tony Turner
Dele Alli – Tristan Waterson
Pippa Grange – Liz White
Harry Kane – Ryan Whittle
Ensemble – Jass Beki, Jordan Ford Silver, Courtney George, Will Harrison-Wallace, Miles Henderson, Philip Labey, Ellouise Shakespeare-Hart
CREATIVES
Writer – James Graham
Director – Rupert Goold
Set Designer – Es Devlin
Costume Designer – Evie Gurney
Lighting Designer – Jon Clark
Movement Directors – Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf
Video Designer – Ash J Woodward
Sound Designers – Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbons
Additional Music – Max Perryment
Revival Director – Elin Schofield
Casting Directors – Bryony Jarvis-Taylor and Lilly Mackie
Dialect Coach – Richard Ryder
Voice Coaches – Cathleen McCarron and Shereen Ibrahim
DEAR ENGLAND
Olivier Theatre, National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 9PX, 10 March to 24 May 2025
Then at The Lowry, Salford, 29 May to 29 June 2025
Tour of English theatres, 15 September 2025 to 14 March 2026
