The National Theatre has announced casting for the highly anticipated national tour of James Graham’s Olivier Award-winning play Dear England.
David Sturzaker will take on the role of England manager Gareth Southgate, while stage and screen star Samantha Womack will portray team psychologist Pippa Grange.
The tour kicks off on 15 September 2025 at Theatre Royal Plymouth and will visit 16 venues across England until March 2026.
Dear England is written by multi-award-winning playwright James Graham (Sherwood, BBC One) and directed by Almeida Theatre’s Artistic Director Rupert Goold (Patriots). Set design is by Es Devlin, known for her work on Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour and The Lehman Trilogy.
David Sturzaker is best known for his role as Simon Bond in Doctors and has appeared in Journey’s End, To Kill a Mockingbird, and A Doll’s House. Samantha Womack is widely recognised for her role as Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders and has starred in The Girl on the Train, The Addams Family, and South Pacific.
“I’m thrilled to be taking on the role of Gareth Southgate. It’s a great responsibility and an honour to be playing him. He’s been an inspiring figurehead for many, rebuilding a team, and the country’s self-belief at what is possible, on and off, the football pitch. This is one of the aspects of the play that resonates most for me – the ability of football, and sport in general, to extend its reach beyond the game, to unite us and inspire us in our lives beyond the sport itself. It’s also hugely exciting to be involved in a production that has already been such a hit in London and Salford. I’m looking forward to taking Dear England on tour across the country, giving many more people the opportunity to see this fantastic show,” said David Sturzaker.
Samantha Womack added: “I am so excited to be returning to the stage to perform in Dear England. It’s a wonderful piece of theatre – entertaining and thought-provoking as well as incredibly staged. I am also fascinated by Pippa Grange and her impact on England men’s team during her term as Head of People and Team Development at the Football Association during Gareth Southgate’s tenure. She fundamentally changed the culture and, in turn, the course of sporting history by teaching the squad to embrace their fears and she’s an extremely inspiring role to take on. I can’t wait to delve in and get back to touring around the country with this fantastic show.”
The creative team also includes costume designer Evie Gurney, lighting designer Jon Clark, co-movement directors Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf, video designer Ash J Woodward, and sound designers Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbons, with additional music by Max Perryment.
The production will also feature a year-long schools engagement programme inspired by Gareth Southgate’s 2021 open letter, reaching over 10,000 young people across the UK.
Dear England was originally commissioned by the National Theatre and premiered in 2023. Following a sold-out West End run and a National Theatre Live cinema release, it returns updated to reflect the 2024 UEFA EURO tournament and Southgate’s final chapter as manager.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
