‘It really is a play for everyone’
At New Wimbledon Theatre, the Olivier award-winning Dear England continues its national tour, following the struggles and successes of the England men’s football team. Football may be the frame, but this show has far bigger ambitions. James Graham’s script uses the game as a lens through which to examine something altogether more universal: identity, belonging, failure, vulnerability, and ultimately, what it means to be British. At a time when the England flag has increasingly become a symbol of prejudice rather than pride, Dear England delivers a message of hope to audiences across the UK that a more inclusive national identity extends well beyond the pitch, writes Frankie Jennner.
David Sturzaker embodied Gareth Southgate with uncanny precision, from the way he curled and twitched his lips to his distinct hand gestures and blinking frequency. Meanwhile, Samantha Womack brought quiet authority to the role of Pippa Grange, the team’s psychologist. Her composed presence was a steadying counterweight to the testosterone-charged energy that filled the locker room. Yet there were moments, particularly in the first half, where that very stillness worked against her. The role demands not just calm but conviction, and Womack occasionally held the audience at arm’s length, with eyes glazed over and staring into the abyss of the crowd, when the material was demanding for her to draw us in.
However, the ensemble picked up the pace, bringing tenacity and vigour to the stage, swiftly bouncing from training sessions to locker room chats and a series of tense penalty shootouts. Jack Maddison was an undeniable highlight as Jordan Pickford, delivering a visceral portrayal of a goalkeeper with the weight of a nation on his shoulders. As the penalty shootout approached, his physical transformation was extraordinary: face flushed scarlet, head shaking with barely contained aggression, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, and slobber flying from his mouth. It was the kind of committed, unselfconscious performance that earned a collective intake of breath from the stalls.
Gary Lineker previously praised the show’s depiction of him as “bang on”, and Ian Kirkby didn’t fail to deliver in this run, absolutely nailing his Leicester accent, distinct intonation, and love for Walkers crisps. Courtney George also made the audience roar with her impression of Theresa May’s signature May-bot walk and perfected Sarina Wiegman’s Dutch accent.
It’s rare that I get so much joy from watching how the rest of the audience reacted throughout, particularly one man in front of me who joined in with the football chants, cackled loudly at the impression of Boris Johnson, and waved his hands in the air as he sang along enthusiastically to ‘Sweet Caroline’. It really is a play for everyone. If you haven’t had a chance to catch it yet, Dear England is wrapping up its national tour with dates at New Wimbledon Theatre until 28 Feb, before finishing its six-month run in Liverpool and Birmingham.
Booking and full details: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/dear-england/new-wimbledon-theatre/
