Dear England stars Samantha Womack and David Sturzaker talk ahead of football smash hit's Birmingham Hippdrome run

“There’s a lot of pressure on these young footballers who might have been in the academy structure from a very young age,” says David Sturzaker. 

“They are fought over by different clubs. But with pressure can come vulnerability. That’s something Dear England digs into.”

Sturzaker, best known as Dr Simon Bond from the BBC’s popular Doctors, is stepping into the role of Gareth Southgate in the National Theatre’s touring production of James Graham's award-winning play about the England men’s football team Dear England. He is struck by just how pertinent the play’s themes are, as definitions of modern masculinity come under the microscope.

"James has given a real insight into things that people might not necessarily know about these young men that we see week in, week out on the football pitch. They are incredibly rich, they’re incredibly famous and lauded by millions of people. But they’re human beings as well," Sturzaker says.

“The play’s asking what it is to be a man in society today. It asks lots of questions about vulnerability, mental health and masculinity as well as questions about national and personal identity. It’s great if people go away thinking about those issues.”

Dear England manages to raise those topics while being immensely entertaining and funny at the same time. 

Samantha Womack, who plays Pippa Grange, the psychologist who comes in to help Southgate introduce new, more caring ways of thinking into the national game, is struck by the energy of the piece.

“I haven’t played football myself, but it does feel like a Roman arena for all life,” she says.