Five star review of Dear England at Leeds Grand Theatre
Stage: Dear England Leeds Grand Theatre Yvette Huddleston 5/5
James Graham’s play about Gareth Southgate’s transformative tenure as manager of the England men’s football team was a big hit when it first appeared at the National Theatre in 2023, with Joseph Fiennes as the inspirational coach, and then gained further fans through NT Live screenings around the country.
Revived on stage earlier this year, with rewrites and additions by Graham bringing the story up to date to include last year’s Euros and Southgate’s subsequent resignation, this touring production is beautifully played from start to finish, and is a winner on many different levels. Graham’s script reflects the inherent drama of football – the highs and lows; the way in which one tiny decision can have a huge impact on outcomes – but it is also infused with warmth, humanity and humour; there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.
In the lead role, David Sturzaker perfectly captures Southgate’s quiet charisma and gentle, self-deprecating manner as he takes on – initially as a caretaker manager – the England squad after the departure of Sam Allardyce. From the off, Southgate declares that he is going to do things differently. He appoints psychologist Pippa Grange (Samantha Womack) who agrees to help the young players allow themselves to be vulnerable and face their fears. She also encourages Southgate to face his own and talk about his 1996 miss in the Euros’ semi-finals penalty shootout against Germany which cost England the match.
The team, that includes Harry Kane (Oscar Gough), Marcus Rashford (Jayden Henley), Harry Maguire (Miles Henderson), Raheem Sterling (Ashley Byam), Bukayo Saka (Jass Beki) and Jordan Henderson (Jake Ashton-Nelson), are sceptical at first but soon get on board. All the performances from the large ensemble are excellent. The supporting cast, many of whom play multiple roles, features some standouts, most notably from Ian Kirby portraying several real-life figures including Gary Lineker and Sven-Goran Eriksson with uncanny accuracy and Courtney George whose impersonations of Theresa May and Serina Wiegman are hilariously spot-on.
Es Devlin’s simple and effective set allows the action to move seamlessly and at pace, giving space to dynamic movement sequences conveying the high-energy of training and the tension of penalty shootouts. It is a joyful, uplifting and rousing production in its depiction of how kindness and a collaborative, caring, supportive attitude and approach can make a difference. This is what intelligent, empathetic leadership looks like. And the play is also about much more than football – it is about national identity, learning from the past while looking to the future, and posing a question about what kind of country England wants to be.
To November 8.