James Graham’s Dear England will transfer from the National Theatre to the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End, where it will have a strictly 14-week run.
Directed by Rupert Goold, the play tells the story of the England men’s football team under manager Gareth Southgate.
It’s time to change the game. The country that gave the world football has since delivered a painful pattern of loss. Why can’t England’s men win at their own game? With the worst track record for penalties in the world, England 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.
Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) will reprise his role as Gareth Southgate, with further casting to be announced.
Goold is joined by set designer Es Devlin, costume designer Evie Gurney, lighting designer Jon Clark, movement directors Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf, sound designers Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbons and video designer Ash J Woodward. Casting is by Bryony Jarvis Taylor, dialect coach is Richard Ryder and associate director is Elin Schofield.
Commissioned by the National Theatre, Dear England was developed with the theatre’s New Work department and had its world premiere in the Olivier theatre on June 20, 2023.
Dear England will run at the Prince Edward Theatre from October 9.
Rehearsals are underway on Dear England, a new play by James Graham coming to the National Theatre.
Telling the story of the England men’s football team under manager Gareth Southgate, the cast is headed by Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) as Southgate and Gina McKee (My Policeman) as Pippa Grange, sports psychologist and head of people and team development at the Football Association from 2017 to 2019.
The cast also includes Josh Barrow as Jordan Pickford, Gunnar Cauthery as Gary Lineker, Will Close as Harry Kane, Crystal Condie as Alex Scott, Will Fletcher as Jordan Henderson, Sean Gilder as Sam Allardyce, Darragh Hand as Marcus Rashford, John Hodgkinson as Greg Clarke, Adam Hugill as Harry Maguire, Albert Magashi as Jadon Sancho, Kel Matsena as Raheem Sterling, Abdul Sessay as Bukayo Saka, Lewis Shepherd as Dele Alli, Paul Thornley as Mike Webster, Tony Turner as Greg Dyke and Ryan Whittle as Eric Dier. Nick Barclay, Tashinga Bepete, Will Harrison-Wallace and Miranda Heath complete the company. The cast will also be playing additional roles as part of the ensemble.
Following Tammy Faye and Ink, writer Graham (Best of Enemies, Sherwood) reunites with director Rupert Goold (Spring Awakening, Judy) for what is described as a gripping examination of both nation and game.
Dear England boasts set design by Es Devlin, costume design by Evie Gurney, lighting design by Jon Clark, movement direction by Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf, sound design by Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbons, video design by Ash J Woodward and casting by Bryony Jarvis-Taylor. The dialect coach is Richard Ryder and associate director is Elin Schofield.
Dear England will play in the Olivier theatre from June 10 – 11 August 11.
Roald Dahl’s The Witches and The Effect have been added to the National Theatre’s 2023 line-up, while casting has been announced for three more upcoming shows.
The Witches will play in the Olivier theatre from November in a new musical version of Dahl’s iconic story by Lucy Kirkwood and Dave Malloy, directed by Lyndsey Turner.
As the story goes, everything you know about witches is wrong. Forget the pointy hats and broomsticks: they’re the most dangerous creatures on earth. And now they’ve come up with their most evil plan yet.
The only thing standing in their way is Luke and his Gran. But he’s ten and she’s got a dodgy heart. Time is short, danger is everywhere, and they’ve got just one chance to stop the witches from squalloping every stinking little child in England.
Katherine Kingsley
The cast includes Katherine Kingsley (The Larkins) as the Grand High Witch and Daniel Rigby (One Man, Two Guvnors) as Mr Stringer, alongside Julie Armstrong, Chrissie Bhima, Zoe Birkett, Daniele Coombe, Molly-May Gardiner, Tiffany Graves, Tania Mathurin, Jacob Maynard, Laura Medforth and Ben Redfern.
It is directed by Turner (The Crucible) with book and lyrics by Kirkwood (Mosquitoes) and music and lyrics by Malloy (Natasha). The set and costume designer is Lizzie Clachan with choreographer Stephen Mear, music supervisor Nigel Lilley, music director Cat Beveridge, lighting designer Bruno Poet, co-sound designers Alexander Caplen and Ian Dickinson, video designer Ash J Woodward, illusions by Chris Fisher and Will Houstoun, casting director Bryony Jarvis-Taylor, associate director Séimí Campbell, staff director Priya Patel Appleby, associate set designer Shankho Chaudhuri, associate costume designer Johanna Coe, associate choreographer Jo Morris, associate music director Natalie Pound and children’s and assistant music director Sarah Morrison.
The Witches will play in the Olivier theatre from November 7, recommended for ages 8+.
Meanwhile, The Effect by Lucy Prebble (Succession) and directed by Jamie Lloyd (Cyrano de Bergerac) will play in the Lyttelton theatre from August.
A funny and intimate examination of love and ethics, Connie and Tristan are falling for each other fast – but is their sudden and intoxicating chemistry real, or a side effect of a new antidepressant? As two young volunteers in a clinical drug trial, their romance poses startling dilemmas for the supervising doctors.
Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You) is cast as Tristan and Taylor Russell (Bones and All) as Connie, with further casting to be announced.
Paapa EssieduLucy Prebble
The set and costume designer is Soutra Gilmour, with lighting designer Jon Clark, composer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante, sound designer George Dennis, movement directors Sarah Golding and Yukiko Masui (SAY), fight director Kate Waters, intimacy co-ordinator Ingrid Mackinnon and casting director Alastair Coomer.
The Effect will play in the Lyttelton theatre from August 1.
The National theatre has also announced casting for the revival of The Father and the Assassin.
Director Indhu Rubasingham reunites with Anupama Chandrasekhar for this essential exploration of oppression and extremism.
Mahatma Gandhi: lawyer, champion of non-violence, beloved leader. Nathuram Godse: journalist, nationalist – and the man who murdered Gandhi. This gripping play traces Godse’s life over 30 years during India’s fight for independence: from a devout follower of Gandhi, through to his radicalisation and their tragic final encounter in Delhi in 1948.
Hiran AbeysekeraPaul Bazely
The cast includes Hiran Abeysekera (Life of Pi) as Nathuram Godse with Paul Bazely reprising his role as Mahatma Gandhi. The cast also includes Azan Ahmed, Ravi Aujla, Ayesha Dharker, Ravin J Ganatra, Raj Ghatak, Halema Hussain, Nadeem Islam, Tony Jayawardena, Nicholas Khan, Raj Khera, Hari Mackinnon, Sid Sagar and Akshay Shah.
The set and costume designer Rajha Shakiry, with lighting designer Oliver Fenwick, movement director Lucy Cullingford, composer Siddhartha Khosla, additional music by David Shrubsole, sound designer Alexander Caplen, fight directors Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown, casting director Alastair Coomer and associate set and costume designer Khadija Raza.
The Father and the Assassin will play in the Olivier theatre September 8–October 14.
