James Graham’s updated version of the play continues to run at the theatre until the 24th May before embarking on a UK tour.
WhatsOnStage: ***** “Yet the sheer energy of both the writing and the production carries it through. Seeing it again (with Elin Schofield as revival director), you notice how many different ways Goold and Graham find to build excitement around staging football tournaments, and how every effect from Jon Clark’s lighting to Ash J Woodward’s nostalgic black and white videos, to Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbons’ raucous sound design, contributes to the team effort of scoring a hit.”
The Guardian: **** “Dear England increasingly strikes me as a theatrical sibling of The West Wing. Where Aaron Sorkin’s TV drama consoled liberals during the George W Bush years with the fantasy of a Democrat intellectual giant in the White House, Graham offers Southgate as a progressive, gentle, healing alternative national leader, for the period from 2016 to 2024, while the Tories were in fact in charge. That this corrective resonance may survive into a Labour administration is revealing of the state we’re in. The tour to football capitals including Newcastle, Liverpool and Leeds will provide another fascinating context.”
London Theatre.co.uk: **** “Dear England is undoubtedly thoughtful, detailed, entertaining and absorbing. James Graham has scored yet again.”
The Telegraph: **** “It could usefully dwell longer on the saga’s final twist, but James Graham’s reboot of his drama about the Gareth Southgate era still scores.”
The Standard: **** “Above all, though, this is a team effort, which captures the communal joy and heartache of sport, while taking a sharp look at our national identity. The lads done good. Again.”
West End Best Friend: **** “If a core theme of Dear England is that a team can be more than the sum of its parts whilst still acknowledging individual strengths, then the National Theatre’s production team embodies this magnificently.”
The Reviews Hub: **** 1/2 “Gwilym Lee takes over the role of Southgate from originating cast member Jospeh Fiennes, and finds the same gentle tone and soft authority, capturing the character’s mannerisms but finding depth in the ongoing impact of the penalty miss that haunts him throughout, never fully committing to Pippa’s (Liz White) methods as a result. Ryan Whittle also steps into the pivotal role of Harry Kane (replacing Olivier winner Will Close), leaning into the same initial humour but also developing a respect among this largely new team of players who Southgate actively tries to empower during his time in charge.”
A Young (ish) Perspective: “Ultimately, Dear England is a performance that becomes more than the sum of its parts; an identity and a community laid out bare. It is a story that resonates far beyond the final whistle.”
City Am: “This is a play so well written and acted that you find yourself hoping – even believing – that the crucial penalties missed by Rashford, Sancho, Saka (all in the 2021 final) and Kane (2022) might somehow go the other way, that England might have actually won and we just… forgot. And because of that, it hurts all over again when they don’t. “
London Unattached: ***** “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. “
The Arts Desk: **** “James Graham adds a neat coda to his ode to decency in sport.”
London Theatre1: **** “This revised version plays to the gallery even more than the original. So what? It’s a crowd-pleaser, whilst acknowledging the individual and collective pains, not only of the players but of their supporters. In the end, the dramatic tension is there, and so is the enthusiasm and dedication of those committed to the beautiful game.”
Broadway World: **** “a powerful and punchy production that captures the heart of the nation’s sport. It’s a well-deserved nod toward Southgate and a fun night at the theatre.”
British Theatre Guide: “Between hope, failure, community and blasts of “Sweet Caroline”, Dear England is a show that will have British audiences dancing in the stands with celebration of a nation that, while often wrong-footing itself, is steadfast in its love of the game.”
The Upcoming: ***** “A heartfelt and impassioned love letter to our national sport but also a timely commentary on our nation. Engaging, endearing and enlightening, this is theatre at its best.”
To book tickets for the London run visit: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/dear-england/