James Graham’s Dear England, the National Theatre’s Olivier Award-winning sensation, embarks on its first-ever national tour, landing at New Theatre Oxford with an urgency and vibrancy that mirrors its subject: the transformation of England football under Gareth Southgate. The play has already broken records in the West End, won acclaim as “the decade’s biggest theatrical triumph,” and now, updated to reflect England’s Euro 2024 final, it proves equally poignant, funny, and moving for audiences outside London.
For anyone expecting a conventional sports drama, Dear England surprises immediately. This is not about goals or tactics; it’s about the human story behind the headlines. Southgate, memorably portrayed by David Sturzaker, is depicted as a man of humility and decency, someone who carries the weight of a nation’s expectations without succumbing to bravado. Samantha Womack’s Pippa Grange, the team’s psychologist, complements him perfectly, embodying the quiet force that helped the squad confront fear, failure, and the infamous penalty curse that haunted England for decades.
The emotional stakes are real. The end of the first act left me with a literal lump in my throat, even though I’m not a die-hard football fan. Graham draws us back to Euro ’96, when a young actor (himself) watched Southgate miss that critical penalty, establishing a through-line from national heartbreak to eventual resilience. It’s a narrative symmetry that works beautifully on stage: the player who once epitomised England’s collective failure now leads a team with courage, empathy, and a progressive ethos.
Graham’s writing balances humour with gravitas. The play skewers media hysteria, fan entitlement, and the absurd theatre of public opinion, yet never lapses into caricature. Each character is nuanced — from players to pundits — allowing the story to explore how narratives shape identity, both national and personal. And it’s far from a lecture; the script is genuinely entertaining, mixing comedic impressions with profound insights on leadership and modern masculinity.
Technically, Dear England is a masterclass. Director Rupert Goold, designer Es Devlin, and movement directors Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf transform a minimal stage set into a kinetic spectacle. Matches are evoked rather than played, while lighting, sound, and projection work in harmony to conjure stadiums, tension, and national fervour. The result is an immersive experience where the theatre itself feels alive, echoing the communal pulse Graham values so highly.
Underlying the spectacle is a meditation on humility, empathy, and decency — qualities often in short supply in our contemporary world. Graham himself describes Southgate’s approach as a conscious inquiry into masculinity, courage, and leadership. The play extends this beyond football, offering reflections on identity, responsibility, and how we navigate societal expectations. It’s rare for a piece of theatre to prompt laughter, tears, and thought about the state of the nation in equal measure.
Dear England is also remarkably accessible. Football enthusiasts will thrill at the allusions to real matches, penalty shootouts, and inside jokes about players past and present, while non-fans are drawn into the universal human themes. The play succeeds in making a nation’s obsession with sport meaningful to those who might never pick up a football, proving theatre’s power to bridge worlds.
This touring production is a feast for both the senses and the intellect. It runs just under three hours, with an interval, and contains moments of strobe lighting, bright lights, and loud noises, all of which heighten the visceral energy without overwhelming the narrative. By the final scene, audiences are often on their feet, swept up in a shared catharsis as Southgate’s journey — and, by extension, England’s — resonates far beyond the pitch.
In a global cultural moment marked by division and uncertainty, Dear England is a play about the power of kindness, courage, and collective endeavour. It reminds us that leadership need not be synonymous with aggression, that humility can coexist with ambition, and that moments of national disappointment can be reframed into stories of resilience and growth. In short, it is joyously entertaining, unexpectedly profound, and utterly unmissable.
Whether you come for the football, the theatre, or simply a story of empathy and human endeavour, Dear England delivers. In Oxford, its first stop on a 16-venue tour, it perfectly captures a city that blends history with youthful vitality — a fitting backdrop for a story that honours the old while celebrating the new.
Dear England is on at New theater Oxford until Saturday 31 January
Running time: 2 hrs 50 mins (including interval)
Age guidance: 10+
Images from previous productions (Image credit: Marc Brenner)
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