Dear England reboot at National Theatre

Last Updated on November 26, 2025

Recast and updated, award-winning football play begins tour

5.0 out of 5.0 stars

Dear England, winner of Best New Play at the 2024 Olivier Awards, has returned to the National Theatre ahead of a nationwide tour. Writer James Graham has made updates to include the England football team’s loss to Spain in the UEFA Euros 2024 final. 

There are various cast changes, notably Gwilym Lee (film credit, Bohemian Rhapsody) replacing Joseph Fiennes to portray Gareth Southgate taking on the thankless job of England football manager. Dear England, named after an open letter by Southgate to the press and public during the Covid pandemic, juxtaposes the national team’s identity crisis against the 2016 Brexit vote. “We all have a problem with what it is to be England at the moment,” says Southgate as he plays the long game modelling a younger team he believes can win the Qatar World Cup in 2022.  

The posters for Dear England, with a solitary waistcoated Southgate staring at an oversized St George’s flag, understate the type of show this is. Dear England is joyful, jubilant and funny with a lovable ensemble cast humorously portraying not just the players but former managers, prime ministers and pundits. I’d anticipated Shakespearian dilemmas and handwringing, but in fact, Dear England is more like musical theatre or even – dare I say it – panto.

That’s not to dismiss it, Dear England had an audience who looked like they’d be more used to the terraces than the Olivier. Theatre needs more productions that broaden the appeal of theatregoing as Dear England certainly does. The atmosphere amongst the audience – or should I say crowd – complete with a half-time blasting of Fat Boy Slim, was as electric as a thrilling Saturday in the stands. Despite no loose balls on this pitch, often I felt like leaping up and cheering. Indeed, during the sequence referencing the Lionesses’ World Cup Win, people did just that. 

The stage is circular with concentric rings that rotate in alternate directions. Seeing the many performers and parts of the set whirl around creates a dynamism that’s reflected in the fast-moving plot. Various cast members play multiple characters; Martin Marquez bounces between Sam Allardyce, “Physio Phil”, a laughably mafioso Fabio Capello and an armchair pundit fish’n’chip seller. Felixe Forde’s leopard-print kitten-heeled Theresa May raises laughs and usefully timestamps the UK’s post-Brexit lurching.

Amongst the many England players characterised, the laid-back Harry Kane played by Ryan Whittle and over-excitable Bukayo Saka played by Tane Siah raised laughs in equal measure. The physical comedy of Josh Barrow playing goalie Jordan Pickford brought those penalty shootouts to life.

The set, a black blank canvas with a white Wembley-style arch, has LED lighting. The displays aid both flashbacks to key matches and contextual details such as introducing player names and match scores. A clock counts down to Southgate’s Qatar goal, 6 years, 5 months, and 21 days away. A lot is happening, but like the team’s collective trauma over repeatedly never winning, even for non-football fans such as myself, it’s a story woven into the country’s collective psyche. 

Thus, the centre of Dear England’s story is how Gareth Southgate changed the England team’s narrative so that people would smile watching them again. Enlisting a performance psychologist, Pippa Grange, here warmly played by Liz White (TV credits, Life on Mars and Ackley Bridge), and bringing “Happy Clappy Touchy Feely” to the locker room, we watch the England team address their fear of losing to become better at winning. 

“What’s going on upstairs” becomes as important as training on the pitch. As the mindset of the team and the country changes, one of the most uplifting sequences of the show is a collective of characters stomping to Fat Les’s “Vindaloo”, complete with a wedding party, some Morris Dancers and baseball-capped black teenagers. It’s got the feel-good vibe of the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony – on which Dear England set designer Es Devlin also worked.

Dear England’s new cast is so well chosen, that it’s hard to remember that these are not the real Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford etc. Joseph Fiennes is due to reprise his role in a BBC TV production but not having seen the earlier version, I find it hard to imagine Gwilym Lee’s calm relatable delivery of Southgate’s manner being bettered, even if the beards and waistcoats match.

You don’t need a love of football to enjoy Dear England. In the same way as you might binge-watch the football comedy series, Ted Lasso, this uplifting production will have you cheering the characters on. We know how it ends – never has “Bittersweet Symphony” been so apt a soundtrack – but with the final group hug and some concluding facts about Gareth Southgate’s tenure, Dear England is a touching love letter to a nation. 

Dear England until May 24^th then touring nationally.
National Theatre
Southbank 
London SE1 9PX

5 stars