(AGENPARL) – Thu 18 September 2025 Thursday 18 September 2025
FIRST LOOK: PRODUCTION IMAGES RELEASED FOR THE HIGHLY
ANTICIPATED NATIONAL TOUR OF JAMES GRAHAM’S
OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING PLAY
DEAR ENGLAND
NOW TOURING TO 16 VENUES ACROSS ENGLAND UNTIL MARCH
Images by Marc Brenner here
Production images have been released of the National Theatre’s highly anticipated tour of
Dear England. Following a record-breaking run in the West End in 2023, James Graham’s
Olivier Award-winning play is now on tour, visiting 16 venues across England, in a coproduction with Josh Andrews and Stuart Galbraith for JAS Theatricals. Launching this week
at the Theatre Royal Plymouth, football and non-football fans alike will be brought to their
feet for this inspiring, at times heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting story of Gareth
Southgate’s revolutionary tenure as England manager.
Heading the cast in ‘the decade’s biggest theatrical triumph’ (★★★★ Daily Telegraph) is
David Sturzaker as England manager Gareth Southgate, with EastEnders and Mount
Pleasant actress Samantha Womack playing the role of team psychologist Pippa Grange.
The cast also includes Jake Ashton-Nelson as Jordan Henderson, Luke Azille as Jadon
Sancho, Ian Bartholomew as Greg Dyke, Jass Beki as Bukayo Saka, Ashley Byam as
Raheem Sterling, Steven Dykes as Sam Allardyce, Courtney George as Alex Scott, Oscar
Gough as Harry Kane, Jayden Hanley as Marcus Rashford, Connor Hawker as Harry
Maguire, Tom Lane as Eric Dier Ian Kirkby as Gary Lineker, Jack Maddison as Jordan
Pickford, Liam Prince-Donnelly as Dele Alli, and George Rainsford as Mike Webster.
Stuart Ash, Natalie Boakye, Ebube Chukwuma, Sam Craig, Miles Henderson and Alex
Wadham complete the company. The cast are also playing additional roles as part of the
ensemble.
Dear England is written by the multi-award-winning stage and screen writer, James Graham
(Punch, West End; Sherwood, BBC One), directed by the Almeida Theatre’s Artistic Director
Rupert Goold (Patriots, Ink; Almeida Theatre/West End/Broadway) with set design by Es
Devlin (Beyonce’s Renaissance, World Tour; The Lehman Trilogy, National Theatre).
It’s time to change the game. The country that gave the world football has since delivered a
painful pattern of loss. The England men’s team has the worst track record for penalties in
the world, and manager Gareth Southgate knows he needs to open his mind and face up to
the years of hurt to take team and country back to the promised land.
Dear England is ‘gripping, moving and funny…as good as theatre gets’ ( ★★★★ The Sunday
Times). It is at the Theatre Royal Plymouth until 20 September, and then tour to Nottingham
Theatre Royal (23 – 27 September), The Marlowe, Canterbury (7 – 18 October), Sheffield
Lyceum (21 – 25 October), Leeds Grand Theatre (4 – 8 November), Theatre Royal
Newcastle (11 – 15 November), Chichester Festival Theatre (20 – 29 November), Mayflower
Theatre, Southampton (13 – 17 January), Milton Keynes Theatre (20 – 24 January), New
Theatre, Oxford (27 – 31 January), Norwich Theatre Royal (3 – 7 February), New Victoria
Theatre, Woking (10 – 14 February), The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford (17 – 21 February),
New Wimbledon Theatre (24 – 28 February), Liverpool Empire (3 – 7 March) and
Birmingham Hippodrome (10 – 14 March).
The wider creative team for Dear England includes 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, with additional music
by Max Perryment.
They are joined by tour revival director Connie Treves, revival movement director Tom Herron,
casting director Bryony Jarvis-Taylor CDG, associate set designer Alice Hallifax, associate
lighting designer Ben Jacobs, associate video designer Libby Ward, associate sound designer
Johnny Edwards, casting associate Lilly Mackie, and resident director Dan Hutton.
The National Theatre will run a year-long schools engagement programme inspired by Gareth
Southgate’s ‘Dear England’ open letter that he wrote to England fans in 2021. This programme,
which will prompt young people across the UK to reflect on their own place in history, just as the
footballers in Southgate’s squad were encouraged to do, is in response to this year being the
80th anniversary of the Second World War. It will be delivered in schools across England with
assemblies and workshops using spoken word and sound design to support students to share
the hopes and aspirations they have for themselves and other young people, 80 years from
now. The resulting sound archive will form a unique 2025–2026 time capsule. Students will also
be invited to see performances of Dear England during the tour. This year-long schools
engagement programme is expected to reach over 10,000 young people.
Dear England was originally commissioned by the National Theatre and developed with the
theatre’s New Work department. Its world premiere was on 20 June 2023 in the Olivier theatre.
Following a sold-out run, Dear England transferred to the Prince Edward Theatre in London’s
West End, from 9 October 2023 to 13 January 2024, where it broke box office records. Dear
England was subsequently released to cinemas through National Theatre Live on 24 January
2024 and has been screened almost 2,500 times across the UK. In February 2024, the BBC
announced it had commissioned a four-part drama of Dear England based on the stage
production for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, and it won ‘Best New Play’ at the 2024 Olivier
Awards later that year. Dear England returned to the National Theatre in spring 2025, updated
to reflect the 2024 UEFA EURO tournament and Gareth Southgate’s final chapter as England
manager. The play had its regional premiere at the Lowry in Salford on 29 May, followed by a
4-week run.
This 2025/2026 national tour of Dear England is a co-production between National Theatre
Productions and JAS Theatricals. It has been supported by ‘Incentivising Touring: Repayable
Grants for Theatre and Dance’, a pilot scheme developed by Arts Council England to support
larger-scale productions to tour to regional venues. Dear England, was amongst the first to
receive a share of over £ 2 million as part of the first round of the scheme, which creates the
opportunity for more people to see high-quality shows close to where they live.
Assisted performances are available throughout the run at each venue. Check individual
venue websites for information and booking details.
Raymond James and Charles Stanley are proud to support the national tour of Dear
England.
FURTHER PRESS MATERIALS
Production images by Marc Brenner are available here
Trailer featuring the Spring 2025 National Theatre cast here
LISTINGS
Dates: Performances until 14 March 2026 (full tour schedule below)
National Press Performance: Wednesday 24 September at 7.30 pm at the Nottingham
Theatre Royal
Assisted Performances: Check individual venue websites for information and booking
details
Age Recommendation: 10+
Social Platforms:
Follow on Instagram @dearenglandplay
X @dearenglandplay
Facebook Dear England Play
#DearEnglandOnStage
TOUR SCHEDULE FOR 2025-2026
Theatre Royal Plymouth 15 – 20 September
theatreroyal.com
Nottingham Theatre Royal 23 – 27 September
trch.co.uk
Marlowe Theatre Canterbury 7 – 18 October
marlowetheatre.com
Sheffield Lyceum 21 – 25 October
sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/lyceum
Leeds Grand Theatre 4 – 8 November
leedsheritagetheatres.com
Newcastle Theatre Royal 11 – 15 November
theatreroyal.co.uk
Chichester Festival Theatre 20 – 29 November
cft.org.uk
Mayflower Theatre, Southampton 13 – 17 January 2026
mayflower.org.uk
Milton Keynes Theatre 20 – 24 January
atgtickets.com/milton-keynes-theatre
New Theatre Oxford 27 – 31 January
atgtickets.com/new-theatre-oxford
Norwich Theatre Royal 3 – 7 February
norwichtheatre.org
New Victoria Theatre, Woking 10 – 14 February
atgtickets.com/new-victoria-theatre
The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford 17 – 21 February
bradford-theatres.co.uk/alhambra-theatre
New Wimbledon Theatre 24 – 28 February
atgtickets.com/new-wimbledon-theatre
Liverpool Empire 3 – 7 March
atgtickets.com/liverpool-empire
Birmingham Hippodrome 10 – 14 March
birminghamhippodrome.com
With Thanks
The commissioning of this work was supported by the Sir Peter Shaffer Charitable Foundation.
The original production at the National Theatre was generously supported by the Dear England
Team of Production Champions.
About the National Theatre
The National Theatre makes theatre that entertains and inspires using its creativity, expertise
and unique reach. The National Theatre shares unforgettable stories with millions of
audience members across the UK and around the world – on its own stages, on tour, in
schools, on cinema screens, and streaming at home.
World-leading artists make their best work at the National Theatre with the widest possible
audience and impact. The National Theatre invests in talent and innovation on stage and off,
taking seriously its role as the nation’s theatre. Of the new productions developed each year
with a wide range of theatre companies, a third of that research and development resource is
dedicated to shows staged at theatres outside London.
Through touring our work to local theatres and schools and nationwide education and
community programmes, we are active in every local authority in the UK. A registered charity
with a deeply embedded social purpose, the National Theatre works with hundreds of
schools and communities across the UK to fire imagination and inspire creativity, and to
develop skills and pathways for careers in theatre.
For more information, please visit nationaltheatre.org.uk.
@NationalTheatre
@NT_PressOffice
About JAS Theatricals
Jas Theatricals was established by Joshua Andrews and Stuart Galbraith to produce and
general manage shows. Previous work as producers or co-producers includes 9 to 5 at the
Savoy; Muriel’s Wedding in Australia; On Your Feet at London Coliseum; Noises Off at the
Garrick; Frankie and Johnny, Grey House and Hadestown on Broadway; Life of Pi at
Wyndham’s; UK tours of Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d, Cluedo and Cluedo 2 and Pretty
Woman West End, US and UK Tour. Current projects include Hadestown in the West End and
Birdsong on UK Tour. Stuart Galbraith is the CEO of KMJ Entertainment Group, whose group
of companies produce and promote music concerts, festivals, theatre, comedy, and spoken
word. Joshua Andrews has produced A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Gillian Anderson, with
the Young Vic; An American in Paris at the Dominion; and Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends – The
Musical. Other stage adaptations include the franchise of seven stage plays of Peter James’
GRACE novels, The Girl on the Train, and two stage plays based on other Kay Mellor hit TV
series, Band of Gold and The Syndicate, which toured in 2024. Danni Powell, former Vice
President of Production and General Manager at The Really Useful Group, has recently joined
JAS as Head of Business Development and General Management.
About Arts Council England
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. Our vision,
set out in our strategy Let’s Create, is that by 2030, we want England to be a country in which
the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where every one of
us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. Between 2023 and
2026, we will have invested over £467 million of public money from Government, alongside
an estimated £250 million each year from The National Lottery, to help ensure that people in
every part of the country have access to culture and creativity in the places where they live.