1 week Ago
It is one of the most eagerly anticipated theatre events of the year - the arrival of the award-winning play Dear England at The Lowry next month, fresh from a sell-out run at the National Theatre. At first glance, a production about the England football team under manager Gareth Southgate might not seem a ‘must watch’ particularly for non football fans. But for Gwilym Lee, who plays the England boss, that’s the intrinsic beauty of the piece.
Gwilym Lee as Gareth Southgate in Dear England (Picture: Marc Brenner) “When we started in rehearsals we talking about the audience in terms of A’s, B’s and C’s,” he said. “A’s were the real football buff who know everything with C’s the polar opposite. For the play to work it has to appeal to all three of those audiences at any one time and it does.
“People come not knowing anything about football and it resonates on a different level. Others come expecting it to be a football play, which it is, but it’s a kind of Trojan Horse - it’s about so much more.” The original production ended with England captain Harry Kane missing a penalty which saw the England team knocked out of the World Cup in 2022, won the Laurence Olivier Awards for Best New Play.
Writer James Graham revisited the play and added a fourth act which included England’s loss to Spain in the 2024 Euros culminating in Gareth Southgate stepping down as manager after eight years in charge of the national side. The play gets its title from the open letter Southgate wrote to the England fans during the Covid pandemic. “When he wrote the Dear England letter it was galvanising,” said Gwilym.
“He basically was saying that when we come together it has power and strength and can be glorious and becomes an experience that lasts in the collective consciousness of country. “It’s a divided world at the moment. We need these national moments of togetherness.
When we have them you realise how brilliant this country is and how great the people in it are.” Gwilym is no stranger to playing playing real-life characters. He won acclaim from fans and critics alike for his portrayal of Queen guitarist Brian May in the movie Bohemian Rhapsody.
And his transformation into the former England manager is nothing short of extraordinary. “You start looking from the outside in when you’re working on a real person,” he said. “That’s kind of the opposite way round to how I would usually approach a character.
So much of it is there for you to find. The cast of Dear England (Picture: Marc Brenner) “I suppose the trick is to find the whys. You are constantly asking that question.
The ticks and twitches, whatever his mannerisms may be, you think I wonder why he moves like that, what is it about his character that makes him do that? “We’re not impersonators. We’re actors and the aim of an actor is hopefully to find the humanity in the character and also to find you in that character a little bit. “So this is very much my version of Gareth.
I’m not trying to be a Rory Bremner or whoever else. People like that are talented in what they do but I think it’s a different kind of craft. “For me it’s just about trying to find your version of it for all of us.
We’re all playing these real people.” James Graham has said in the past that the play is almost a love letter to Gareth Southgate and the way he brought a totally different approach to managing the national team including using a sport psychologist and encouraging players to believe in themselves. Dear England (Picture: Marc Brenner) He also wasn’t afraid to take a stand against those ‘fans’ who racially abused members of the squad following tournament defeats.
And then of course there are the penalty shoot-outs. As a player Southgate himself missed the vital penalty which saw England knocked out of the Euro 96 tournament by Germany and the play reveals how that memory shaped his own approach to running the national side. The penalty shoot-outs remain an integral part of the play keeping the audience on the edge of their seats even though we all know the outcome.
Tony Turner as Steve Holland and Gwilym Lee as Gareth Southgate in Dear England (Picture: Marc Brenner) “That’s testament to the all the guys,” said Gwilym. “The show has its own shape and choreography and you can’t just go through the motions. “They are young athletes at the pinnacle of their game operating at the highest level of performance.
They have adrenalin coursing through their bodies. You’ve got to feel that from them every night - and you do. There is no let up.
” Players such as Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford, Jordan Pickford and Harry Kane are all brought to life in a production which is both funny and extremely moving. And which genuinely affects the audience. “We have had nights when we have had more of a football crowd than a theatre crowd in the audience and that’s really fun,” said Gwilym.
“The fact that this play is bringing in new audiences to the theatre is a real bonus.” Gwilym has fond memories of The Lowry, he was part of a touring production of King Lear which visited the venue. “It’s a beautiful theatre and such a great city,” he said.
“It’s going to be fun taking Dear England to audiences there and seeing how they will respond to it.” Dear England is at The Lowry, Salford from May 29 to June 29. details from www.
thelowry.com.
