Southgate was a bastion of decency ...now more than ever that's crucial

THERE is a line, spoken by a fictional-ised Gareth Southgate, that sums up the beating heart of James Graham's smash play Dear England.

- By Stefan Kyriazis

In the scene in question, a newly appointed Southgate is attempting to win over his squad and cement in them a feeling of belonging. "What is England?" he asks them. "It's not a trick question, it has to come from you."

The scripted words remain as vital and thought-provoking today as Dear England returns to the National Theatre, before a major tour.

First released in 2023, it covered the former England manager's tenure up to the team's exit from the 2022 World Cup, lensed through a rousingly entertaining, inspiring examination of masculinity and nationhood. Then England surprised everyone by making a second Euros final in 2024 and a reboot was in order.

We're chatting today after Graham's revival of his Olivier Award-winning play received glowing reviews. For someone with more than 30 plays to his name, hit TV shows including crime drama Sherwood, and an OBE, the Nottingham-born playwright, 42, is surprisingly relieved.

"I didn't know whether the country was moving on, but there's obviously still something about Gareth's story which seems to touch people," he says.

"No one can deny that the last decade of our national life has not been easy, with a crazy conveyor belt of leaders. We were losing a sense of confidence in ourselves, losing our story.

"You could feel the country panicking and in free fall, making all these quick, short-term decisions that had no long-term progress. And yet, here was a guy who survived the course and became a moral leader in terms of what he represented and his values.

"Unlike previous managers and, arguably, the political leaders we had during the same period, rather than slapping a different colour paint on a car that's not working any more, he got in there and gave it a new engine and that work's going to last."

Graham says he found that change inspiring.