David Sturzaker will take on the role of Gareth Southgate and will be joined by a cast that includes EastEnders actor Samantha Womack as team psychologist Pippa Grange.
Set to begin touring on 15th September at Theatre Royal, Plymouth, the national tour of Dear England will visit 16 venues across the country until 14th March 2026.
Written by James Graham, the Olivier Award-winning play tells the story of Gareth Southgate’s revolutionary tenure as England manager as he looks to change the mood of the nation around the England team.
Jass Beki, Courtney George, Tom Lane and Miles Henderson will return in the roles of Bukayo Saka, Alex Scott, Eric Dier and Ensemble.
New cast members include Jake Ashton-Nelson as Jordan Henderson, Luke Azille as Jadon Sancho, Ian Bartholomew as Greg Dyke, Ashley Byam as Raheem Sterling, Steven Dykes as Sam Allardyce, Oscar Gough as Harry Kane, Jayden Hanley as Marcus Rashford, Connor Hawker as Harry Maguire, Ian Kirkby as Gary Lineker, Jack Maddison as Jordan Pickford, Liam Prince-Donnelly as Dele Alli and George Rainsford as Mike Webster. They will also be joined by Stuart Ash, Natalie Boakye, Sam Craig, and Jonathan Markwood.
Following a sold-out run at the Olivier Theatre, Dear England transferred to the Prince Edward Theatre in London’s West End, from October 2023 to January 2024, where it broke box office records. The production was subsequently released in cinemas through National Theatre Live in January 2024 and has been screened almost 2,500 times across the UK.
Dear England returned to the National Theatre in spring 2025, updated to reflect the 2024 UEFA European Championships and Gareth Southgate’s final period as England manager.
Tour dates
- Theatre Royal Plymouth 15th - 20th September
- Nottingham Theatre Royal 23rd - 27th September
- The Marlowe, Canterbury 7th - 18th October
- Sheffield Lyceum 21st - 25th October
- Leeds Grand Theatre 4th - 8th November
- Theatre Royal Newcastle 11th - 15th November
- Chichester Festival Theatre 20th - 29th November
- Mayflower Theatre, Southampton 13th - 17th January
- Milton Keynes Theatre 20th - 24th January
- New Theatre, Oxford 27th - 31st January
- Norwich Theatre Royal 3rd - 7th February
- New Victoria Theatre, Woking 10th - 14th February
- The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford 17th - 21st February
- New Wimbledon Theatre 24th - 28th February
- Liverpool Empire 3rd - 7th March
- Birmingham Hippodrome 10th - 14th March
About the show
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 directed by Rupert Goold (Patriots, Ink) with set design by Es Devlin (Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour, The Lehman Trilogy).
The creative team 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.
Group rates are venue specific. For more information go to dearenglandonstage.com.