For a few minutes on Saturday evening, England held its breath as its finest footballers lined up for a penalty shootout against Switzerland in the Euros quarter-finals.
It was no exception at London’s Old Vic. As audience members hunched over their phone screens moments before The Constituent, a political drama, was due to begin, its stars were also in a quandary.
They came to an unusual decision. The play’s opening scene was put on hold so performers, production team and audience could watch the tense penalty shootout.
The Constituent’s three-strong cast – James Corden, Anna Maxwell Martin and Zachary Hart – had been watching the match on a rigged-up screen in the theatre’s rehearsal room.
Corden said: “When it got to extra time, we put on our costumes. The extra time finished about three minutes before the play was due to begin. We thought: ‘Oh man, this is tough but we’ve got to start.’
“Then we heard a ‘Yessss’ from the audience, and we looked at each other and said: ‘They’re all watching it.’ We looked out and there were loads of little lit-up phones in the audience.
“It wasn’t the time to start a serious play about serious issues. So me and Anna and Zach went out on stage with an iPad and were commentating [on the shootout]. It was really wonderful, alive, a glorious collective experience. One of my favourite moments that I’ve ever had really.”
The 90-minute play, a political drama about a clash between a female MP and an angry constituent, started about 10 minutes late.
Audience members Jack and Rachel Moss had been following the match at home. When it went to extra time, they watched on the bus on the way to the theatre.
“We got there about 7.15pm and went straight to our seats,” said Jack. “We could see about 20 or 30 people had their phones out, and others were looking over their shoulders. There was a bit of chatter about whether the play might be delayed. Corden is quite a big football fan.”
Rachel said: “It was quite tense in the theatre when it was clear penalties were coming on – not the best atmosphere in which to start a serious play. Jack was saying to me: ‘Do you think I could put the phone down between my legs to watch the penalties without disturbing other people?’”
As Corden and his co-stars gave a running commentary on the penalties from the stage, “people’s phones were streaming at slightly different speeds, so every time England scored, a cheer would start in one section of the audience and then ripple through the entire theatre as others caught up”, said Jack.
“Corden played it very well, he was quite charming and he engaged the audience. There were lots of cheers and applause.”
There was a swift change of atmosphere as the play began.
According to the Guardian’s four-star review, the drama has “some great funny lines at the start, but that playfulness takes us unsuspectingly into darker psychological territory”. There are occasional “outbursts of violence” and “sudden bursts of tears”.
Switching gears from watching a penalty shootout to playing demanding parts in a serious play was not too difficult, said Corden. “It was our second performance of the day so we were already in the rhythm of it. But I wonder if it would have been different if we’d lost.”
Corden, a West Ham fan, said he had missed a lot of Euros matches because of the play. On Wednesday, England’s semi-final against the Netherlands kicks off at 8pm, half an hour after curtain-up at the Old Vic.
“We’ll catch the end of the match,” said Corden. England reaching the semi-finals was an “unbelievable achievement”, he added.
“I think this team are incredible. I’ve never understood the search for negativity around the England team. I’ll never, ever get it. I’ll never subscribe to it. I really do feel like we can win it.”
