Dear England
Dear England
The smash-hit production of Dear England returns to the National Theatre.
National Theatre – London
Mon 10 March 2025 - Sat 24 May 2025
Mon to Sat 7pm Thurs and Sat 2pm
The smash-hit production of Dear England returns to the National Theatre in 2025, following a sold-out run at the West End.
It’s time to change the game. 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?
With the worst track record for penalties in the world, 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.
The original cast included Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu; The Mother, Netflix) as Gareth Southgate, Dervla Kirwan (Smother, Apple TV; Material Girl, BBC) will play the role of Pippa Grange, sports psychologist and Head of People and Team Development at The Football Association from 2017 until 2019.
The cast also included Denzel Baidoo as Bukayo Saka, Josh Barrow as Jordan Pickford, Gunnar Cauthery as Gary Lineker, Will Close as Harry Kane, Crystal Condie as Alex Scott, Will Fletcher as Jordan Henderson, Darragh Hand as Marcus Rashford, John Hodgkinson as Greg Clarke, Lloyd Hutchinson as Sam Allardyce, Albert Magashi as Jadon Sancho, Kel Matsena as Raheem Sterling, Lewis Shepherd as Dele Alli, Griffin Stevens as Harry Maguire, Paul Thornley as Mike Webster, Tony Turner as Greg Dyke, Ryan Whittle as Eric Dier. Nick Barclay, Tashinga Bepete, Kate Kelly Flood, Will Harrison-Wallace, Miranda Heath, Tom Mahy and Tristan Waterson complete the company. The cast also played additional roles as part of the ensemble.
Joseph Fiennes portrayal of Gareth Southgate is ‘pitch-perfect‘ (Time Out) in this ‘thrilling’ (Sunday Times) new play by James Graham, with set design by Es Devlin. Graham reunites with director Rupert Goold, following their acclaimed productions of Tammy Faye and Ink, in this gripping ‘new stage epic’ (Telegraph) about both nation and game.
Showtime: 2 hours and 50 minutes Including an interval
Please note this is a fictionalised account of the struggles and successes of England’s football teams, based on extensive research and interviews. It features characters inspired by some real-life individuals, and some composite characters entirely imagined by the author.