PRESS Night at the Hippodrome was a splendid as well as colourful affair last night for the National Theatre’s tour of their award-winning production of James Graham’s extraordinary play ‘Dear England’.
I say colourful, as many of the audience had come sporting regalia of the football teams they support – and ‘splendid’ because I cannot think of a better word to describe the buzz of the pre-show/match atmosphere.
At nearly three hours in length and the potential to be worthy but wordy with Match of the Day punditry for dialogue, a play about the England tootball team’s failure to win the World Cup was not top of my list of shows to review. After all, we all know the results – so where is the jeopardy?
How wrong could I be? I missed the goalposts by a mile, I’d say – for this is a play that has everything – drama, pathos, comedy, tragedy – and yes, jeopardy by the bucketload as we prayed for different outcomes to the ones in our collective memories.
Rupert Goold’s direction is masterful – with a pace that moves almost to the rhythm of your heartbeat. Along with choreography bordering on ballet from movement directors Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf, Goold achieves the ultimate goal of sucking you in and spitting you out on the journey, stirring up pride for your country’s flag for all the right reasons.
Picture by Marc Bennett. s
Es Devlin’s set design with its Wembley halo dominating a bare stage, Jon Cark’s powerful lighting, outstanding sound from Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbons and relevant, stunning video design by Ash Woodward combine like a witch’s cauldron to bubble beautifully over the player’s toils and troubles.
The play opens with Gareth Southgate missing that penalty which knocked England out of Euro 96 and haunted Southgate like Hamlet’s ghost. When he becomes the unlikely England manager, he vows that no player will suffer the nightmares he does.
David Sturzaker’s Southgate is just about as perfect a characterisation as you could get. He walks, talks and – to all intents and purposes – becomes the man who put pride back into team and country.
Steven Dykes (Physio Phil), George Rainsford (Mike Webster), David Sturzaker (Gareth Southgate), Ian Bartholomew (Steve Holland) & Stuart Ash (Ensemble)
Southgate is joined on his journey by radical psychologist Pippa Grange – on a mission to transfer the egos and mindset of some of the world’s greatest individual players into a team that cared about the whole, more than the parts. Softly-spoken Samantha Womack is as believable as she is magnetic in the role.
There are strong performances all round including an intelligent Marcus Rashford from both Amarae Edson and Jayden Hanley, charismatic big-tough Harry Maquire from Connor Hawker and doubting-thomas brilliance by Oscar Gough as Harry Kane.
Outside of the players, Ian Bartholomew is hilarious as Greg Dyke, likewise Steven Dykes as Sam Allardyce and Courtney George as a parody of Teressa May. Ian Kirby is suitably narcistic as Sven-Goran Eriksson and spot-on perfect as bigger narcissist Gary Lineker.
Picture by Marc Bennett. s
Although Graham’s play is a work of fiction, it is based on real events, factual memories and interviews with the actual players. It is quite unique on so many levels and when we all rose as one in the walkdown to pay homage and sing along with Sweet Caroline, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Magnificent!
Dear England is at the Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday, March 14. Click here for times, tickets and more information on this beautiful play about the Beautiful Game.
