Dear England return announces initial casting

The National Theatre has revealed lead casting today for the upcoming return of the Olivier Award-winning play Dear England.

As previously reported, James Graham’s piece, about Gareth Southgate’s multi-year vision for the England men’s football team, is set for a new run at the National Theatre, as well as a regional premiere at the Lowry in Salford.

The show will not be the same as the original 2023 production, with the National previously stating: “As the nation watches the drama unfold at this summer’s UEFA EURO 2024, Graham’s critically acclaimed play will evolve to include this key European championship.”

Gwilym Lee will take on the role of Southgate in the new production, following in the footsteps of Joseph Fiennes, who received both Olivier and WhatsOnStage Award nominations for his performance.

Lee said: “I am thrilled to return to the stage after seven years (and to the National Theatre after nearly twice that) to play Gareth Southgate in Rupert Goold’s brilliant production. I can’t say I grew up with football in my bones, like some, but even I was swept up on the wave of excitement and optimism that this group of players under Gareth Southgate created again and again. They struck a chord that resonated beyond the world of football and started a conversation about things like identity, leadership and Englishness that James Graham so passionately encapsulates in this play. I can’t wait to take on the role and continue this conversation.”

Directed by Goold, the show’s creative team includes set designer Es Devlin, costume designer Evie Gurney, lighting designer Jon Clark, co-movement directors Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf, video designer Ash J Woodward, co-sound designers Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbons, additional music by Max Perryment, revival director Elin Schofield, casting director Bryony Jarvis-Taylor, dialect coach Richard Ryder, voice coaches Cathleen McCarron and Tasmin Newlands, associate lighting designer Ben Jacobs, associate sound designer Johnny Edwards and staff director Connie Treves.

Additional casting will be announced in due course.

Dear England will return to the National’s Olivier Theatre from 10 March to 24 May 2025, followed by a four-week run at the Lowry in Salford, from 29 May to 29 June 2025. A TV adaptation is also in the works.