Dear England - NT Olivier / Prince Edward Theatre / Lowry

They really should save the at least the filming of the ending until after July. His entire legacy could change one way or another at the Euros. It clearly won't air until after. The 2022 world cup is not a dramatic enough ending point if viewers know what happened next

One of the joys of this was its theatricality, and the creativity of the staging. They're going to have to work some to make it a non-conventional drama.

True, but given that the original theatre production of Quiz was, essentially, a TV show on stage, the conversion back to TV was rather more straightforward than a football match...

I was hugely looking forward to this NT screening, but came close to leaving at the interval. Very one dimensional, and having seen 'Quiz' I think I've seen James Graham's box of tricks already. Perhaps I'd feel it the other way round if I'd seen 'Dear England' before 'Quiz' - but mini-histories within the show, with a cartoonish fashion parade to tell it, was better done in 'Quiz'. In 'Dear England' every music choice was painfully obvious, and chucking in a cartoon of a cartoon - Boris Johnson - seemed to have no point to it other than an easy laugh. It smacked of desperation - but I must be the one desperately out of the current taste as it's a cast iron acclaimed hit play.

What really got me - and made me wish I'd bailed on Act 2 - was the need to find a concluding shape to the story arc, in place of the England team actually winning anything. That's fine - concoct what you like, as long as it's not offensively opportunist, flying in the face of the evidence in the rest of the play. The conclusion of the arc is the idea that a lack of rioting after Harry Kane's missed penalty meant that the English nation itself had grown up during the course of the England football team's psychological reset on what winning/losing means. Perhaps even, that by conductivity the team's learning had spread to wider society. Really? It feels an insult to the players/actors who detail the experience of being one of the 3 black penalty takers (all missing at the Euros) that sparked violent reaction. Had England really grown up? - or was Harry Kane's miss (in a World Cup!) less incendiary because he's white. The play could have it's cake and eat it. Put forward its theory, and then have another player saying...."really?" After all, James Graham is no stranger to offering alternative conclusions to an audience: see 'Quiz'.

Apart from all this I found it boring - and I like football, and the themes the play covers.

Maybe that's the problem. Genuine England football fans who are fans of Gareth Southgate are very thin on the ground these days.  

Returning to the NT Spring 2025 then going to the Lowry.

www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/jun/04/play-about-england-football-team-to-return-with-potential-for-new-final-act

This feels like the new 2:22

World Cup in 2026 .. surely time for a revival ..

Yes!
Never played football at school
Have never kicked a ball
Never watched a football match on TV
Never been to a football match
Didnt know any of the players depicted in the play
Thought it was terrific!
Brilliantly directed and acted ,funny and moving
What more do you want in a drama?

Myself, my mum and sister (all non football fans) watched this at the PE last year and all of us absolutely loved it. I will be rebooking for the Lowry run next year.

Yes it's superb and you definitely don't need to be a football fan or know anything about it.