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THE OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING BEST PLAY RETURNS MARCH 2025
HOME GAME
AWAY GAME
NATIONAL TOUR
The Olivier-Award winning smash hit returns to the National Theatre this March followed by a 4-week run at Lowry, Salford, before kicking off a national tour this autumn.
It’s time to change the game. The country that gave the world football has since delivered a painful pattern of loss. Why can’t England’s men win at their own game?
The team has the worst track record for penalties in the world, and manager 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.
Gwilym Lee (Bohemian Rhapsody; SAS Rogue Heroes, BBC) will play former England manager Gareth Southgate in the return of this ‘thrilling drama’ (Evening Standard).
Writer James Graham (Sherwood, BBC; Punch, Nottingham Playhouse) updates his epic examination of nation and game to reflect Gareth Southgate’s final chapter as England manager. Rupert Goold (Patriots; Best of Enemies) once again directs this ‘back-of-the-net winner’ (The i), with set design by Es Devlin (Coriolanus, The Lehman Trilogy).
Please note this is a fictionalised account of the struggles and successes of England’s football teams, based on extensive research and interviews. It features characters inspired by some real-life individuals, and some composite characters entirely imagined by the author. This production contains some offensive language, strobe lights, bright lights directly focused at the audience, and loud noises throughout.
Cast for the 2025 National Theatre and Lowry performances only. Casting for the tour to be announced.
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Matt Bardock
Mike Webster
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Matt Bardock
Mike Webster
Matt Bardock
Josh Barrow
Jordan Pickford
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Josh Barrow
Jordan Pickford
Josh Barrow completed the Epic Stages course with National Youth Theatre. His work in theatre includes Dear England (also in the West End) and If Not Now, When? at the National Theatre; Time and Tide at Park Theatre and Norwich Theatre; Lit for HighTide at Nottingham Playhouse; The Outsider at the Print Room; Silk Road at the Vaults Festival, Live Theatre, Newcastle and Trafalgar Studios; Zigger Zagger for the National Youth Theatre; and Just Because I’m Paranoid… and Drinking Concrete at the Royal Court. TV includes Royal Bastards: Rise of the Tudors, Vera 10 and Temple. Film includes #Hero and the short films The Trap and My Brother is a Mermaid. Audio includes First Out and If Not Now, When?
Jude Carmichael
Marcus Rashford
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Jude Carmichael
Marcus Rashford
Jude Carmichael
GUNNAR CAUTHERY
Gary Lineker
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GUNNAR CAUTHERY
Gary Lineker
Gunnar Cauthery’s work in theatre includes Dear England (also in the West End), Another World: Losing Our Children to Islamic State, The Suicide, This House and The White Guard at the National Theatre; Saving Grace at Riverside Studios; All My Sons at the Old Vic; Ravens: Spassky vs Fischer, Wild Honey, Wonderland and The Empty Quarter at Hampstead; Mack and Mabel (also on UK and Ireland tour) and The House of Special Purpose at Chichester; Little Shop of Horrors at the Royal Exchange; Privacy at the Donmar Warehouse; The Winter’s Tale and Henry V for Propeller; A View from the Bridge at Edinburgh Royal Lyceum; and Harvest at Oxford Playhouse. TV includes EastEnders, Doctor Who, Casualty, The First Team, Mars, Genius: Einstein, The Tudors, The Demon Headmaster and Just William. Film includes Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Eurovision, The Nest, War Horse and Benjamin Dove. Radio includes Home Front, Tommies, Watership Down, Reykjavík, Planet B and Wives and Daughters.
Gamba Cole
Raheem Sterling
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Gamba Cole
Raheem Sterling
Gamba Cole
Ryan Donaldson
Harry Maguire
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Ryan Donaldson
Harry Maguire
Ryan Donaldson
Felixe Forde
Alex Scott
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Felixe Forde
Alex Scott
Felixe Forde
Jordan Ford Silver
Ensemble
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Jordan Ford Silver
Ensemble
Jordan Ford Silver
Courtney George
Ensemble
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Courtney George
Ensemble
Courtney George
Will Harrison-Wallace
Ensemble
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Will Harrison-Wallace
Ensemble
Will Harrison-Wallace trained at ALRA. His work in theatre includes Dear England (also in the West End) and The Lehman Trilogy (also in the West End and Park Avenue Armory, New York) at the National Theatre; The Odd Couple, Moonlight and Magnolias and A Match Made in Heaven at Frinton Summer Repertory; Hamlet on UK tour; Noye’s Fludde at Blackheath Halls Opera; Merchant of Venice at London Contemporary; Heartbreak Hotel at The Jetty, Greenwich; Peckham – The Soap Opera at the Royal Court; A View from the Bridge at the Broadway, Catford; The Water Engine at the Old Vic; Richard III on UK tour; and The Shark is Broken in the West End and Toronto. TV includes Thomas and Friends, Killer Cops and The Snipist. Film includes Spin State, The Holly Kane Experiment and Guardians of the Galaxy. Radio includes The Corrupted, Beyond the Time Machine, Frankenstein, Jamaica Inn, Mrs Warren’s Profession, Barred and Blood Brothers. Video games include Divinity – Original Sin II, The Assembly, Assassins Creed – Chronicles, Old Gods Rising, Aces & Adventures, Murderous Muses and Lords of the Fallen.
MILES HENDERSON
ENSEMBLE
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Kadell Herida
Jadon Sancho
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Kadell Herida
Jadon Sancho
Kadell Herida
Joshua Hill
Jordan Henderson
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Joshua Hill
Jordan Henderson
Joshua Hill
John Hodgkinson
Greg Clarke
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John Hodgkinson
Greg Clarke
John Hodgkinson’s work in theatre includes Dear England at the National Theatre (also in the West End); The Provoked Wife, Venice Preserved, Twelfth Night, Love’s Labour’s Lost and Love’s Labour’s Won for the RSC; The Country Wife and Aristo at Chichester; The Ferryman (Olivier Award nomination) and The Eleventh Capital at the Royal Court; Orson’s Shadow at Southwark Playhouse; Donkey’s Years at the Rose, Kingston; The Libertine at the Citizens, Glasgow; Unscorched for Papatango; White Rabbit Red Rabbit and A Walk On Part (also at Soho Theatre and the Arts) for Live Theatre; Behud at Soho Theatre; His Dark Materials, Hapgood (also at West Yorkshire Playhouse), Uncle Vanya, Murmuring Judges and Racing Demon at Birmingham Rep; The Winter’s Tale for Headlong and Schtanhaus; Absurdia and The Front Page at Donmar Warehouse; A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of the Shrew at Regent’s Park; Hangmen at the Royal Court and on Broadway; and Best of Enemies for the Young Vic and Headlong in the West End. TV includes Life After Life, Catherine the Great, Red White and Blue, Rillington Place, Victoria, Witless, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Big Bad World, The Escape Artist, Whitechapel, Silk, Holby City, Criminal Justice, Fallout, Heartbeat, Broken News, Brief Encounters – All in Day’s Work, Doctors, EastEnders, My Family, Peep Show, Lee Evans’ Show, Chambers, Kiss Me Kate, Roy Dance is Dead, People Like Us, Pure Wickedness and Boyz Unlimited. Film includes Napoleon, Heart of Lightness, Leave to Remain, Skyfall, Thunderpants and Firelight.
Philip Labey
Ensemble
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Philip Labey
Ensemble
Philip Labey
Tom Lane
Eric Dier
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Gwilym Lee
Gareth Southgate
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Gwilym Lee
Gareth Southgate
Gwilym Lee’s work in theatre includes Danton’s Death and Oedipus at the National Theatre; Versailles, King Lear (also at the Brooklyn Academy of Music) and Hamlet (also West End and on Broadway) at the Donmar; The Promise at Trafalgar Studios; Diminished at Hampstead Theatre; and Richard III at the RSC. TV includes The Great, SAS Rogue Heroes, Top End Bub (upcoming), Jamestown, Fresh Meat and Midsomer Murders. Film includes Bohemian Rhapsody, Here, Top End Wedding, Oddity, The Tourist and The Last Witness.
Martin Marquez
Sam Allardyce
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Martin Marquez
Sam Allardyce
Martin Marquez
Ellouise Shakespeare-Hart
Ensemble

Ellouise Shakespeare-Hart
Ensemble
Ellouise Shakespeare-Hart
Tane Siah
Bukayo Saka
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Tane Siah
Bukayo Saka
Tane Siah
TONY TURNER
Greg Dyke
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TONY TURNER
Greg Dyke
Tony Turner’s work in theatre includes Dear England (also in the West End), The Visit, This House, Burnt by the Sun, Present Laughter, Playing with Fire, The UN Inspector and The Alchemist at the National Theatre; The Quest for the RSC; The School for Scheming at the Orange Tree; Journey’s End on tour; Personal Enemy for Brits Off Broadway at 59E59; Ink (also in the West End), Measure for Measure, Big White Fog and Enemies at the Almeida; The House of Special Purpose at Chichester; One Night in November at the Belgrade; The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs at Salisbury Playhouse; A Mad World, My Masters and Neville’s Island at New Wolsey, Ipswich; The Madness of George III at West Yorkshire Playhouse; The Danny Crowe Show at the Bush; Christmas Carol at New Vic; Talent at Colchester and Watford Palace; Communicating Doors at Manchester Library Theatre; Macbeth and Othello at Liverpool Everyman; Romeo and Juliet at Birmingham Rep; The Mirror and the Light, Journey’s End, This House and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in the West End. TV includes Gentleman Jack, Quiz, Delicious, Downton Abbey, Loving Miss Hatto, Holby City, Silk, Doctors, Maxwell, Party Animals, Gavin and Stacey, Trial and Retribution XIII, Derailed, Foyle’s War, Eyes Down, Red Cap, Heartbeat, Always and Everyone, Coronation Street, The Ward, The Lakes, The Bill, Children’s Ward, The Riff Raff Element, Emmerdale and September Song. Radio includes The Archers and work with the BBC Radio Drama Company.
Tristan Waterson
Dele Alli
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Tristan Waterson
Dele Alli
Tristan Waterson
Liz White
Pippa Grange
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Liz White
Pippa Grange
Liz White
Ryan Whittle
Harry Kane
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