Gareth Southgate will be played by his doppelganger Joseph Fiennes in Dear England this summer.
(Bloomberg) — It’s not often that football and theater fans can jointly celebrate. But in June, Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) will play England manager Gareth Southgate in a new play at London’s National Theatre. The show, Dear England, follows Southgate on his journey to leading the men’s football team and becoming “England’s biggest asset,” and will explore the game of football and England’s journey with their national team. “With the worst track record for penalties in the world, Gareth Southgate knows he needs to open his mind and face up to the years of hurt to take team and country back to the promised land,” proclaims the theater’s website.
Southgate famously missed a penalty kick as a player in the 1996 Euro semi-finals against Germany, but went on to lead the England team as manager to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the finals of Euro 2020—its first major final in 55 years.
“Dear England is a captivating examination into the complex psychology of the much loved beautiful game,” said Rufus Norris, director of the National Theatre, in a press release.
The show is written by playwright James Graham, whose political show Best of Enemies just finished a critically successful West-End run, and will be directed by Rupert Goold in the Olivier theatre, the largest of the stages at the National.“To tell this story of the national game on the stage of the National Theatre is just the greatest thrill, if an intimidating responsibility,” said Graham in the press release. “What Gareth Southgate has attempted in his quiet cultural reform of England football I find epic and deeply moving. And I’m so grateful to be surrounded by some of British theatre’s most exciting creative talent to unite around this new show.”
Tickets for Dear England go on sale March 9. The show will run from June 10 to Aug. 11. More casting details will be announced soon. Whether the show will feature actors playing some of the world’s most famous football players, like Harry Kane, remains to be seen.
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