Behind The Scenes of Dear England as It Comes to Newcastle Theatre Royal (and Films for the BBC)
Up-and-coming actors are playing local footballing heroes Jordan Pickford and Jordan Henderson in the Olivier Award-winning Dear England heading to Newcastle Theatre Royal
To learn more about the making of Dear England, James takes us back to 2018. More specifically the FIFA World Cup when the England squad experienced their first semi-final appearance in 28 years (only the third in English history). ‘Before that, being an England fan wasn’t the happiest of experiences,’ James admits, describing a lack of pride among fans. ‘Then along comes Gareth Southgate, who would probably be the first to admit he is the most unlikely revolutionary to transform the England football team. I find his journey so remarkable.
‘It’s pretty much Shakespearean in its fall and rise – particularly in the World Cup where we finally won our first ever World Cup penalty shootout. In a sport that we invented, we were the worst at penalties before that. The fact that it was Gareth who did it, 20 years after his own penalty trauma (famously missing the 1996 penalty in the Euros against Germany), that for me was a beautifully neat, redemptive arc, being the guy who cracks the penalty curse. I find it so inspiring how he transformed the pride and culture so quickly and I really saw a story there for the stage.’
And so James (who says he was nerdy and introverted as a child, but captivated by England’s international tournaments because of the drama) began writing Dear England. It made its world premiere in the Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre in London in 2023. Now an Olivier Award-winning hit, it tells the inspiring story of Gareth Southgate’s England management.
‘That was also a chaotic time within Great Britain,’ says James. ‘We had an historic amount of Prime Ministers cycling through on a conveyer belt, the pandemic, Brexit… and while these aren’t really shown on stage, they are the backdrop to difficult and divisive times in the nation’s life. I find that really inspiring in Gareth’s story – and the team’s – that they were trying to be a unifying force that brought people together. Gareth’s whole ethos and values were about kindness, passion and decency, and looking out for each other whether that was on or off the pitch. He spent a lot of time working on the culture and the environment which these men were arriving into. I think that again was quietly radical – the fact that it wasn’t just about strategy, player selection and technique. Most of what made this so revolutionary was that he realised it was about mindset and psychology.’
EastEnders star Samantha Womack will play psychologist Pippa Grange on tour. ‘Pippa identified that a lot of what these young men were struggling with on the pitch were things that all young men are struggling with at the moment – their sense of self, their mental health, forming relationships and trust issues. Despite the extroverted confidence they have (everyone has to perform in sport), they were frightened by what a penalty shootout represented and failing in front of their friends and fans.’
This production involves a big company of actors and, as with all National Theatre productions, it’s a big spectacle, but James is particularly fond of the quieter moments between the characters against the backdrop of World Cups, which he says are the most meaningful. ‘There’s comedic moments, but I think there’s really moving moments as well,’ he says. ‘It also deals with the issues people will remember from when we lost on penalties in the Euros [in 2020] at Wembley. There was an outbreak of pretty unpleasant racism towards the players that missed and that’s something we’ve had to tackle as well, and look at that and the social and cultural issues you can’t shy away from. It’s definitely a play that tackles who we are as a nation, good and bad, and the moments of humour, empathy and kindness – and audiences have really connected with falling in love with this team as they go on this adventure.’
Given its subject matter, the play has attracted both regular theatre-goers and football fans to the theatre, and that’s excited James. ‘It’s been great to see a mix of audiences, whether that’s kids in football shirts or non-traditional theatre-goers who are on their feet at the end singing to Sweet Caroline,’ he laughs. ‘It’s a lovely blend of different audiences and that was a real driving factor for me.’
Portraying sport on stage, James has found that there are parallels between the two. ‘Our remarkable set designer has done concerts for Beyoncé and Adele in Las Vegas so she really brings that sense of liveness and connectivity – and everyone being in proximity together,’ he explains. ‘The penalty shootout itself is a spectacle. It’s one of the greatest pieces of theatre in modern sport. There’s something really staged and quite beautiful about a penalty shootout, and really traumatic (and sometimes horrifying) at the same time. Sport always engages in spectacle and drama and, like theatre, can also be really moving, with big decisions and huge consequences.’
Now James is excited to see how audiences at Newcastle Theatre Royal will react to the play. ‘The England football team belongs to everybody, and the team Gareth Southgate built was, I think, more representative of the nation than most previous teams both in terms of race, but also in terms of representation around the country,' he says. ‘There’s a huge Northern contingent in Gareth’s squad whether it’s Jordan Henderson, Jordan Pickford or Phil Foden. We’re a nation with strong accents and cultural identities and that means it’s a truly national play. This was so, so important for me. I was really excited to launch it at the National Theatre in London, then take it to the West End, and we recently got to do a quick stay in Salford and it was great to take it to the North West and introduce it there.
‘All of my [early] experiences of big world-class theatre were because they toured through my home town and that’s the only reason I got to see the epic work that inspired me as a kid, so it was an important thing for me to make sure it gets on the road and that everyone in the country gets to see world-class theatre by the National Theatre. I don’t quite know yet what it’s going to feel like, as a play, when you see it in different places but I think it will be different and the cast and company are aware of that. Each town and footballing city we’re going to has its own relationship with the sport, and the England team, and that’s going to change the show; that’s really exciting and the joy of live theatre – you never get the same thing twice.’
A diverse squad means a diverse cast and local talent have had the opportunity to play these sporting stars, including Newcastle’s Josh Barrow who was the play’s original Jordan Pickford and will reprise this role for the BBC adaptation. ‘Jordan Pickford is one of my absolute heroes,’ says James. ‘He’s a very strong player and as a goalkeeper he’s very passionate and vocal, and audiences tend to come alive when Jordan Pickford comes on. It’s a really lovely moment.’ At Newcastle Theatre Royal, Pickford will be played by Mackem actor Jack Maddison and Jake Ashton-Nelson, from Newcastle, will play Jordan Henderson.
‘As productions have gone on we’ve found that we’re often giving debuts or first professional jobs to actors just out of drama school or who’ve simply nailed it in the audition,’ says James. ‘It feels like every single time we’re introducing the next generation of British acting talent to audiences and that’s been a complete delight. I’m just getting to know them all in rehearsals. They’re really brilliant young actors and the stars of the future. It’s great to be in a rehearsal room with really thirsty young talent who all get the challenge to play these really famous football players, but make them their own.’
When it comes to how the stage show will be adapted for screen, it seems that’s an entirely different ball game. ‘We’ve started filming and it’s completely surreal for me,’ James says. ’It’s an absolute dream to be able to tell the story on the BBC. On stage there’s abstract choreography and theatre magic but TV demands a greater realism and a greater truth to it so we’ve had to work really hard in building those sets. The young players for screen have had to go through an intense amount of football training with professional footballers to begin the process of how they move and how they carry themselves. Audiences today are so familiar with that because of all the documentaries, so making this as accurate as possible has been a huge challenge. But it’s really exciting to take a story to screen, and people globally being able to see it is a huge treat.
‘It’s probably obvious but I’m a big advocate for what Gareth Southgate tried to achieve. England managers are always going to divide opinion on what they should’ve said and done – it’s called the impossible job for a reason – but win or lose, try or fail, I think what Gareth represented was a really positive English patriotism and the belief that traditional values like decency and kindness have a place in football. I find that really moving. The fact that tied itself into the greatest run of success we’ve had in the England football team since ’66 is really inspiring. So whether it’s on stage, on tour, or on screen, I’m really pleased that this story continues to resonate with audiences.’
