However, if LACRIMA was intended to serve as a dissection of the haute couture world, an intense exploration of both its beauty and brutality, ultimately it falls short, a production that relies so heavily on melodrama and immense scale that it loses the very humanity it seeks to celebrate.

As a play about Gareth Southgate's drive to redeem himself to his sport and his country, 'Dear England' is a gripping, moving achievement. 

Brian Cox, as Bach, delivers a solid performance with a grandiose energy that harkens back to an older, less naturalistic style of acting.