Dear England | The Lowry

Dear England, a play written by James Graham and directed by Rupert Goold, follows Gareth Southgate's (Gwilym Lee) career as manager of the England Men's Football team. Most notoriously known for his infamous missed penalty during the 1996 Euros and the regret and disappointment that still lingered, Southgate introduces the team to psychological support in the form of Dr Pippa Grange (Liz White) to encourage players to become more vulnerable, creating a more emotionally resilient team culture.

Whilst this play appears to be, on the surface level, a play based on football, Graham's writing skillfully weaves in themes of masculinity, identity, mental health, politics and racism into a script which is equal measures thought-provoking and gripping, yet utterly hilarious and energetic. With the additional help of vibrant and refreshing direction from Goold, the long run time of around 2 hours 30 appears to go by in a flash, and from the offset, you are completely immersed into this world.

Movement directors Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf have ensured that the piece flows seamlessly, with moveable doorways being transported around the stage by the cast, which turn into locker rooms and graffitied walls, amongst other settings. Alongside this, the simplistic, yet evocative set design by Es Devlin allows a revolving circular stage alongside a oscillating white ring to create the grandeur and atmosphere of large football stadiums, aided by vibrant and dynamic sound and lighting design from Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbons, and Jon Clark, respectively. Another worthy mention of production design must be given to video designer, Ash J Woodward, whose projections of past real-life Euros footage brings about a true sentiment to this piece of theatre.

Performances all round are of extreme high quality - Lee perfectly balances Southgate's predetermined level-headed and tranquil demeanour with a natural ability to connect with the other characters in the story, making his character's journey that little bit more profound. Josh Barrow as Jordan Pickford and Ryan Whittle as Harry Kane both have an eerily alikeness to the football players that they portray, which is highly impressive.

There is some particularly good character work of impersonations of public figures including Gary Lineker, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Sven-Göran Eriksson to name but a few. Although these tend to lead into more caricature-type like characters, these are expertly performed by Gunnar Cauthery and Felixe Forde and naturally lend their hand to the most comedic moments of the show.

Dear England is a gripping and engaging piece of theatre, which will delight football fans and traditional theatre goers alike. With the themes explored still as relevant as ever, Dear England is a thoughtful and inspiring piece of theatre, and whilst the play explores the emotional highs and lows of a sport, it's also a poignant reflection of how the collective love of a sport can unite and challenge a nation.

Dear England runs at The Lowry until 29th June 2025, with it then going on a UK tour beginning in September 2025.

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★★★★★ (5*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Marc Brenner