Doctors and EastEnders stars take key roles in hit Gareth Southgate play on Nottingham stage
The key players have been announced for Dear England as the acclaimed play about Gareth Southgate’s tenure as England manager prepares to come to Nottingham.
Leading the cast in what the Daily Telegraph called “the decade's biggest theatrical triumph” will be David Sturzaker as Southgate, with EastEnders and Mount Pleasant actress Samantha Womack playing the role of team psychologist Pippa Grange. The play is aimed at football and non-football fans alike, with a story billed as “inspiring, at times heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting”.
The Olivier Award-winning Best New Play, which broke box office records during its West End run in 2023, will be staged at the Theatre Royal Nottingham from Tuesday 23 until Saturday 27 September.
Dear England is written by the multi-award-winning stage and screen writer James Graham (Punch, West End; Sherwood, BBC One) and directed by the Almeida Theatre’s artistic director Rupert Goold, with set design by Es Devlin, whose credits include Beyonce's Renaissance world tour.
David Sturzaker is best known for playing Simon Bond in BBC One’s Doctors. Theatre credits include Captain Stanhope in Journey’s End (West End), To Kill a Mockingbird (West End), Charles II (The Globe/West End) and Torvald Helmer in A Doll’s House (Royal Exchange). Other screen credits include Endeavour (ITV), Da Vinci’s Demons (STARZ) and Father Brown (BBC One).
Samantha Womack is best known for playing Ronnie Mitchell in BBC One’s EastEnders. She has also starred in Game On (BBC Two) and Mount Pleasant (Sky) on TV, represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest and performed leading stage roles in the West End and on tour. Theatre credits include Rachel in The Girl on the Train and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (West End and UK Tours), 42nd Street and Morticia in The Addams Family (UK tours); South Pacific (Barbican/UK tour) and Guys and Dolls (West End). Other screen credits include Silent Witness (BBC One), The Marlow Murder Club (UKTV) and film, Kingsman: The Secret Service (20th Century Studios).
Further casting is to be announced.
The play tells how the country that gave the world football has since delivered a painful pattern of loss. The England men’s team had the worst track record for penalties in the world, and manager Gareth Southgate knew he needed to open his mind and face up to the years of hurt to take team and country back to the promised land.
The Sunday Times called it “gripping, moving and funny” and “as good as theatre gets”.
David Sturzaker said: "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. I'm looking forward to taking Dear England on tour across the country, giving many more people the opportunity to see this fantastic show.”
Samantha Womack said: "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 National Theatre will run a year-long schools programme inspired by Gareth Southgate’s ‘Dear England’ open letter that he wrote to England fans in 2021. This programme, which will prompt young people across the UK to reflect on their own place in history, just as the footballers in Southgate's squad were encouraged to do, is in response to this year being the 80th anniversary of the Second World War. It will be delivered in schools across England with assemblies and workshops using spoken word and sound design to support students to share the hopes and aspirations they have for themselves, and other young people, 80 years from now. The resulting sound archive will form a unique 2025–2026 time capsule. Students will also be invited to see performances of Dear England during the tour. This year-long schools engagement programme is expected to reach over 10,000 young people.
Dear England was originally commissioned by the National Theatre. Its world premiere was on June 20 2023. Following a sold-out run, Dear England transferred to the Prince Edward Theatre, in London’s West End, where it broke box office records. Dear England was subsequently released to cinemas through National Theatre Live in January last year and has been screened almost 2,500 times across the UK.
In February 2024, the BBC announced it had commissioned a four-part drama of Dear England based on the stage production for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Dear England returned to the National Theatre in spring 2025, updated to reflect the 2024 European Championships tournament and Gareth Southgate’s final chapter as England manager.
Visit trch.co.uk or call 0115 989 5555 to book.