Dear England review: ‘permission to be patriotic’ - The Jewish Chronicle

To the mostly politically left theatre establishment in this country the idea of celebrating English nationhood feels like giving a thumbs up to fascism. The only major auditorium where patriotism is actively encouraged is the Albert Hall during the Last Night of the Proms. Though even here there have been calls to end that tradition on the grounds that Rule, Britannia! is imperial triumphalism. A much more persuasive argument would be that it is a terrible song.

However, playwright James Graham often confounds the left-leaning group-think that is often baked into works by lesser writers. His play Ink about the newspaper industry dared to portray Rupert Murdoch not as the expected villain but as a more complex, even heroic figure who disrupted a closed shop of establishment newspaper proprietors.

Playwright James Graham often confounds the left-leaning group-think that is often baked into works by lesser writers

Here with an amended reprise of his award-winning 2023 work charting Gareth Southgate’s revolution as England manager, Graham does what no theatre dares or even wants to do – give English audiences licence to feel the rush of blood that goes with wanting on a molecular level your country to do well.

It helps that Graham’s hero – here played by Gwilym Lee who replaces Joseph Fiennes in the role – embodies decency. Only last week Southgate’s speech about how the minds of young men are being formed on a diet of porn and gambling shows that he is here to stay as a commentator of national importance.

Like the first iteration of the play this one begins with Southgate’s unlikely appointment to the “impossible job” in 2016 after a gruff Sam Allardyce’s was sacked following just one match as England manager. Yet even as a temp Southgate reveals he has long been thinking about what is wrong with England; particularly the unrealistic expectation that they are destined to win tournaments.

To a sceptical backroom staff he begins to challenge the old blood-and-thunder way of doing things. He asks why England lose penalty shoot-outs more than their peers. The answer is indicative of “something that has gone wrong in England” says Southgate, a line that says as much about the country as the team.

The problem is “up here” he says as he continues pressing his forefinger against his temple, which is also where memories of his own missed penalty against Germany in the 1996 Euros still haunt. Because at his core Graham is our finest state-of-the-nation dramatist, his observations about England the team resonate with England the country.

Even the story of a leader who found himself in the job largely because there was no obvious better candidate, brings to mind the current prime minister, who like the Southgate in the early part of this play, seems to be doing rather better than many people expected.

But back to the football. Designer Es Devlin’s video projections superbly convey the scale and intensity of playing the game in a stadium. Here Rupert Goold’s production is charged with the

tension and thrill of a match as his ensemble cast bound around the stage like gazelles.

All this was in the previous version of this play. Bringing it up to date with England’s and Southgate’s first major final on foreign soil feels rather like what it is – an after-thought. But no matter. What counts is being able to sit in a theatre and with some justification – as opposed to deluded hope – feel the unashamed urge to cry “Come on England”.

Dear England★★★★
National Theatre

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Theatre