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Dear England/James Graham

James Graham’s latest play has had an extended run from the National Theatre and we saw it yesterday at Cameron Mackintosh’s Prince Edward Theatre.

I can see why as, whilst my theatre companion was a football fan and follower like myself, the play went beyond its central theme of how Gareth Southgate (Joseph Fiennes) sought to resolve the issue of why England had not won a trophy since 1966.

One of his answers was to seek the help of sports psychologist Pippa Grange (Dervla Kirwan) as the England boss believed the problems were in the mind.

I might have added a press that regularly insulted – and therefore disrespected – managers like Bobby Robson (“Go- in-the-name-of-God/Allah”) and Graham Taylor (“Swedes 2 Turnips 1”) when they unrealistically elevated their hopes and chance pre-tourney; England fans who went from hooliganism to indifference; the success and riches of the Premiership that resulted in the leading clubs not really wanting to release their players; and certain players retiring from international football long before retiring from their clubs.

Yet given the golden generation of Wayne Rooney, Stevie Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, the Nevilles and Frank Lampard – and the recruitment of the best European coaches like Sven Goren Eriksson and Fabio Capello – Southgate was right to be perplexed.

This play begins with Southgate himself missing that crucial penalty in the shoot-out against Germany in the 1996 Euros and ends with Harry Kane missing his in the shoot-out against France in the Qatar World Cup of 2020.

On that journey Graham examines the notion of defeat, nationhood, team bonding, racism and confidence which would engage the non-football fan, though it certainly helps to be one.

Rex Mitchell  

I also enjoyed and appreciated this play from more the theatrical perspective.

Joseph Fiennes gave a convincing and moving depiction of Southgate. He looked like him, caught the Crawley accent and mannerisms perfectly but more than that made him a moving figure.

It was a challenge for the rest of the cast, who had to perform many roles from the England players themselves, to FA Chairman Greg Clarke, to Gary Lineker.

This requires not just vocal accuracy but credibility as the actor has to convince the audience that physically he is an athlete. In films like Escape to Victory Michael Caine did not so convince.

This cast did and Will Close as Harry Kane, superficially vacuous but emerging as a leader and true captain, did especially well. The cast mimed being footballers taking penalties and actual play was shown by them running haphazardly across the stage.  The dialogue was football-talk with prolific use of the F word, but witty and clever too.

The staging was also worthy of praise.

It was a semi-circular stage with the only props training cubicles. The stage incorporated signs that could show the progress of a penalty shoot out and back projections of the 1966 victory over West Germany.

As it should be, the audience felt engaged and despite a horrendous walk down Shaftesbury Avenue after the matinee performance with torrents of tourists, revellers and protesters, I found myself thinking incessantly about the play.

 

 

 

 

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About Tim Holford-Smith

Despite running his architectural practice full-time, Tim is a frequent theatre-goer and occasional am-dram producer. More Posts