A play chronicling “the gentle revolution” led by England men’s football manager, Gareth Southgate, is to be staged at the National Theatre.
James Graham, the writer of the acclaimed television series Sherwood, has written Dear England, about the shift in the national team’s culture under Southgate.
The Hollywood actor Joseph Fiennes is to play the player turned manager in the production this summer.
Graham said Dear England, which takes its name from an open letter written by Southgate to England fans in 2021, is inspired by Southgate’s footballing journey since his infamous penalty miss for England in 1996.
“I think what has happened to the men’s England football team over the past six years has been quietly extraordinary,” Graham told the BBC. “It’s been humming along in the background, but we’re only starting to really understand now Gareth’s gentle revolution.”
Southgate took on the role when the England team was at its “absolute lowest ebb” in 2016 amid an “existential crisis about why we’d lost our way” and against the backdrop of the Brexit vote, Graham said.
Dear England will be directed by Rupert Goold, and the National Theatre’s artistic director, Rufus Norris, described it as “a captivating examination into the complex psychology of the much-loved beautiful game”.
The show will come six months after England were knocked out of the World Cup by France in the quarter-finals, with striker Harry Kane missing a late penalty. Southgate has said he will stay as England boss until after Euro 2024.
“[It’s] great to be writing a story that hasn’t finished,” Graham said. “My experience of watching England go out of this last World Cup, it was a multitude of conflicting feelings when I was sat there in the pub.
“Because obviously I was waiting for the ending of my story, so while I was sat there grieving England’s loss around my mates, I was also going: ‘What does it mean for my story? What does it say about their journey? Is this good? Is it bad?’
“None of my mates around me knew I was writing this play so I think they were wondering why I was sat silently staring into my pint trying to make sense of it all.”
Graham added: “To tell this story of the national game on the stage of the National Theatre is just the greatest thrill, if an intimidating responsibility. The experience of working on This House at the National Theatre 10 years ago changed my life as an emerging writer.
“Now, with Dear England, to be given the opportunity to shine a light on another public institution in the form of the England men’s football team is, I know, an exciting opportunity. What Gareth Southgate has attempted in his quiet cultural reform of England football I find epic and deeply moving. And I’m so grateful to be surrounded by some of British theatre’s most exciting creative talent to unite around this new show.”
Southgate made 57 appearances for England as a player, but is probably best remembered for missing a crucial penalty kick against Germany in the Euro 96 semi-final at Wembley. As manager, he led the national side to a World Cup semi-final in 2018 and the Euro 2020 final.
Prior to the Euro 2020 final, which was played in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Southgate’s open letter was widely praised for its reflections on national identity.
“I have a responsibility to the wider community to use my voice, and so do the players,” Southgate wrote. “It’s their duty to continue to interact with the public on matters such as equality, inclusivity and racial injustice, while using the power of their voices to help put debates on the table, raise awareness and educate.”
Dear England will run at the National Theatre from 10 June until 11 August. Tickets go on sale on 9 March.
