By James Graham
Theatre Royal Nottingham
23–27 September 2025

On the night Nottingham Forest played their first match in a European competition for 29 years, the official opening of a tour of James Graham’s Dear England played to a packed crowd at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham.

The venue is appropriate: Graham is a former member of staff at the Theatre Royal which during the week of Dear England celebrates its 160th anniversary.

Many people have heaped praise on Graham: when his play Punch opened at Nottingham Playhouse in 2024, the theatre’s artistic director Adam Penford described Graham as “an international writer of unparalleled talent”. Dear England enhances his reputation further.

With Dear England, Graham has come up with a play that appeals to regular theatregoers with no knowledge of football. And fans of the game who are strangers to theatre will have as much fun watching Dear England as they do cheering on their team from the terraces.

The play looks at how Gareth Southgate was chosen to lead the England men’s football team at a time when the national side had become a bit of a joke. Southgate set about examining the philosophy of his players and getting them to think about football in a totally different way.

The play examines England’s participation in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups along with the Euros in 2020. We know it ended in tears—but such is Graham’s skill that Dear England scores because it shows how the team managed to restore national pride and overcome their fears.

Director Rupert Goold has made team changes from the side which took to the stage at the National Theatre earlier in 2025. David Sturzaker pulls on Gareth Southgate’s waistcoat and does a commendable job. He gains empathy for the penalty he missed at Euro 1996 which haunts him throughout his managerial career even though he tries to give the impression he’s got over it. The moment he recalls the negativity he faced as he walked up to take that spot kick is especially poignant.

Southgate’s determination to change his players’ way of thinking led to his bringing in psychologist Pippa Grange. Samantha Womack does an excellent job of showing how Grange succeeded in getting the players to trust one another and abandon their fear of taking penalties.

Dear England has a 23-strong cast who all give 100%. Those playing footballers throw themselves into their roles and look Premier League class. That’s particularly evident in the penalty shootouts, which are full of tension even though you probably know the outcome.

As it’s an ensemble piece, it might be worth a yellow card for me to single out anyone in particular for their performance. But Oscar Gough stands out as unassuming captain Harry Kane, Ian Bartholomew catches the eye as former FA chairman Greg Dyke and one of Southgate’s predecessors Graham Taylor and Ian Kirkby pops up as a crisp Gary Lineker and an eccentric Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Watch out too for George Rainsford, last seen on the Theatre Royal stage earlier in 2025 as Roy Grace in Peter James’s Picture You Dead. In Dear England, he’s fiery coach Mike Webster who’s not exactly a fan of Southgate’s unusual methods.

A couple of the cameos don’t quite come off—but that in no way detracts from the enjoyment of Dear England.

As the team get to believe they can actually win a tournament, it’s an excuse to bring out all the old football songs, which get the audience joining in with the choruses.

On this performance, Dear England is top of any league you can name. It scores on so many levels. Audiences around the country are going to enjoy the sort of euphoria football fans feel whenever their team pulls off a victory.

* This review originally appeared on the British Theatre Guide website