Football is often about nostalgia – the legends, the curses, the inexhaustible supply of portentous stats – and James Graham’s Dear England is a time capsule of eight years of the national game.
The play starts in 2016 with Gareth Southgate’s appointment as caretaker manager of the English men’s team, with this updated version taking in two World Cups and two Euros, till his departure from the job in 2024.
Mixing real dialogue with imagined scenes it explores his fresh direction as manager, particularly his bringing in psychologist Pippa Grange (played by Samantha Womack) and offering a more thoughtful and socially aware approach than some of his predecessors.
That roll call of past managers is the subject of some acidic caricatures, from the tracksuit clad Graham Taylor (Ian Batholomew) to Mr Armani Fabio Copello (Steven Dykes). There are also passing cameos from Greg Dyke, Theresa May (Courtney George), Boris Johnson (George Rainsford) and even Liz Truss (though no room for Rishi).
Much of the comic verve of the piece comes from these joyful ensemble contributions, along with banter from the assembled players and the ghosts of players past – Ian Kirkby embodies both Gary Lineker and Matt Le Tissier.
At the centre though is David Sturzaker’s portrayal of Southgate himself: self-depreciating, calm, composed, and always trying. This version of Southgate is a noble, principled one – perhaps the only slip the script allows him is a conscious image-making choice to swap his waistcoat for a polo shirt.
Es Devlin’s set is dominated by bold circles on stage and in the air, evoking both the middle of the pitch and a Wembley arch, with wheeled cabinets representing its hallowed dressing rooms. Projections and football anthems help both place the action, and shortcut the matches.
For football fans there are plenty of subtle jokes, for those of us less embroiled there is enough fun to be entertained.
It is a tad indulgent – the running time is longer than the longest Macbeths – but then isn’t all nostalgia? And as the saying goes, football isn’t a matter of life and death. It’s more serious than that.
- Dear England continues at Norwich Theatre Royal until 7 February 2026, then continuing its nationwide tour.
