Brought by the National Theatre, this production covers the sporting tale of near-missing, culture-creating half-darling of the English eye Gareth Southgate, and his impactful tenure as manager of the England men’s national football team. Whilst it flirts with the bluster of testosterone fuelled dressing rooms, it brings with it a very deliberate and in-your-face softness that is credited as being part of the winning formula for Southgate and the England team. Except they didn’t win. So why are we hearing this story?
The first thing that needs to be said is Es Devlin’s set design is sensational. Slick, bold and powerful, it is alive and breathing and extremely well utilised. Jon Clark’s lighting design accompanied with Ash J Woodward’s video design make the piece a pleasant feast for the eyes, embellished by some great movement. Richard Ryder’s dialect coaching is top drawer too, as many of the characters – particularly that of Southgate, Harry Kane and Pippa Grange are expertly done. Of course, credit ought to be bestowed upon David Sturzaker (Southgate), Oscar Gough (Kane) and Samantha Womack (Grange) respectively.
The three aforementioned actors are among the strongest, alongside Ashley Byam’s complete Raheem Sterling and Connor Hawker’s comic relief in Harry Maguire. All are enthused with passion and precision and offer an essential believability to what is sometimes a playfully ridiculous play. Some of these larger caricatures are very welcome, however. With Steven Dykes and Courtney George, you could take any pick of figures from their multi-roling roster to shine a light on, and it will put a smile on your face. As for the rest of this ensemble cast, there are complimentary things to be said for all in truth. It is a large yet strong cast with great balance.
Rupert Goold’s direction is particularly strong. There is an excellent use of space, a great tempo throughout the piece and emotion is textured aptly and with deliberation throughout. Although many of the show’s designers lend themselves to Goold’s directorial success, it is still up to him to know how to use the tools bestowed upon him to the greatest effect. Fortunately, it feels like the design reaches its potential thanks to Goold’s vision and execution.
There is plenty to be said for Graham’s script, which ultimately, I found to be polarising. Objectively it’s well-written and has a solid theatrical sensibility that convincingly takes a sports tale and puts the theatrics on stage without hiccups for the most part. It is, however, guilty of Disney-fying the beautiful game frequently. I would argue it’s fair to say it’s a play about football for people who maybe don’t actually like football but love to feel involved. The reality of football behind the scenes – changing rooms where still to this day there are no openly gay men in any of the game’s major leagues and competitions – is at complete odds with Graham’s ‘happy-clappy’ representation. It feels fake, because it is. Whilst I am understanding of taking creative liberties for the benefit of effective storytelling in a theatrical format, it still jars in this autobiographical, based-on-real-events story. Importantly, it jars for good reason – because it isn’t even fully understanding of cultures, even when our protagonists are so heavily credited with having changed cultures.
The play ends with no silverware for England or Southgate, but a strong vibe of ‘the real silverware is the friends we made along the way’. The play also ends with no resolution or cultural change to the abhorrent racism black players faced, but it does end with a rendition of Sweet Caroline and some dad dancing. It’s this type of hand-wringing in favour of bow-tieing a feel-good story that I question. Regardless of whether this narrative is earned, at least we can say it’s shiny.
Reviewer: Louis Thompson
Reviewed: 21st October, 2025
North West End UK Rating: