James Graham’s award-winning drama Dear England is back at the National Theatre from tonight, 10 March 2025.
Starring Gwilym Lee (SAS Rogue Heroes), the Olivier Award-winning Best New Play returns to the National Theatre booking to 24 May 2025.
Written by James Graham (Punch, Young Vic; Sherwood, BBC One) and directed by Rupert Goold (Patriots, Ink), Dear England tells the uplifting, sometimes heartbreaking, and ultimately inspiring story of Gareth Southgate’s transformative tenure as England manager.
The production has been updated following last year’s UEFA EURO tournament to reflect Southgate’s final chapter at the helm of the national team.
Gwilym Lee (SAS Rogue Heroes, Bohemian Rhapsody) stars as Gareth Southgate, alongside Liz White (Life on Mars) as sports psychologist Pippa Grange. The cast also includes returning performers Josh Barrow as Jordan Pickford, Gunnar Cauthery as Gary Lineker, Tony Turner as Greg Dyke, John Hodgkinson as Greg Clarke, and Ryan Whittle, who now takes on the role of Harry Kane. New cast members include Matt Bardock as Mike Webster, Jude Carmichael as Marcus Rashford, Gamba Cole as Raheem Sterling, Ryan Donaldson as Harry Maguire, Felixe Forde as Alex Scott, Kadell Herida as Jadon Sancho, Joshua Hill as Jordan Henderson, Tom Lane as Eric Dier, Martin Marquez as Sam Allardyce, Tane Siah as Bukayo Saka, and Tristan Waterson as Dele Alli.
Dear England – in rehearsals
The ensemble includes Jass Beki, Courtney George, Will Harrison-Wallace, Miles Henderson, Jordan Ford Silver, Philip Labey, and Ellouise Shakespeare-Hart.
The wider creative team for Dear England features set designer Es Devlin, costume designer Evie Gurney, lighting designer Jon Clark, co-movement directors Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf, video designer Ash J Woodward, co-sound designers Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbons, and additional music by Max Perryment. Revival director Elin Schofield leads the return, with casting director Bryony Jarvis-Taylor, dialect coach Richard Ryder, and voice coaches Cathleen McCarron and Shereen Ibrahim also contributing.
Dear England explores the nation’s fraught relationship with football, tackling the country’s history of heartbreak on the pitch and Southgate’s efforts to reshape both team and national identity. The play originally premiered at the National Theatre on 20 June 2023, before transferring to the West End’s Prince Edward Theatre from 9 October 2023 to 13 January 2024, where it broke box office records. It was later released through National Theatre Live in January 2024, with nearly 2,500 screenings across the UK.
The drama will also tour this year and next, including a four-week run at The Lowry in Salford from 29 May to 29 June 2025; and a 16-venue UK tour from 15 September 2025 to 14 March 2026, co-produced by Josh Andrews and Stuart Galbraith for JAS Theatricals. Casting for the tour is yet to be announced.
Dear England is playing at the National Theatre from 10 March to 24 May 2025.
Book tickets to Dear England at the National Theatre London
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