School engagement programme to run alongside Dear England tour

Beginning in September, the engagement programme is aimed at Key Stages 3 and 4 and responds to the events of VE and VJ Day. This year marks the 80th anniversary of these significant events.

The programme will be delivered as part of a nationwide tour of the Oliver Award-winning play, Dear England, which will visit 16 venues across England, opening at Theatre Royal Plymouth on 15th September.

Inspired by Gareth Southgate’s ‘Dear England’ open letter that he wrote to England fans in 2021, assemblies and workshops will be delivered using spoken word and sound design. The aim of the programme is to support students to share the hopes and aspirations that they have for themselves and other young people 80 years from now.

Students will also be invited to see performances of Dear England during the tour, with school bookings and accompanying learning activities available. Schools should contact tour venues to discuss school bookings and activities.

Dear England tour

The National Theatre’s production, Dear England, written by James Graham (Sherwood, Quiz) and directed by Rupert Goold (Patriots, King Charles III) will tour from 15th September 2025 until 14th March 2026, visiting venues including Nottingham Theatre Royal, Sheffield Lyceum, Milton Keynes Theatre and Birmingham Hippodrome.

The play tells the uplifting, at times heartbreaking, and ultimately inspiring story of Gareth Southgate’s revolutionary tenure as England manager in this gripping examination of nation and game. The play has been updated following the 2024 UEFA EURO tournament to reflect Gareth Southgate’s final chapter as England manager.

James Graham said: “I am beyond delighted and grateful that Dear England is heading out on a nation-wide tour across England. To put the national game on the stage of the National Theatre and then into the West End back in 2023 was an utter dream. Now, to head out on a nationwide tour feels like winning the treble.

“As someone from a community that had limited access to culture growing up, I’m especially aware of how vital it is to share work of such a scale beyond the capital. And as a lifelong theatre and England fan, the chance to tell a story about the beautiful game and through the prism of Gareth Southgate’s transformative term has been a privilege. I think he has been a remarkable leader, and it fills me with great excitement and joy that we get to share Rupert’s euphoric and entertaining production, with all its incredible movement and music, once more with audiences around the country.”