James Corden DELAYS his latest  performance in The Constituent so he can watch the England match

By Jordan Beck For Mailonline 17:38 07 Jul 2024, updated 07:34 08 Jul 2024

James Corden delayed a performance of his West End play so he could stream the England v Switzerland match.

The actor, 45,is currently starring opposite Anna Maxwell Martin in a production of The Constituent at The Old Vic in London and made the audience wait on Saturday  while he watched England take victory in the penalty shootout. 

The Gavin and Stacey star then lost signal on his iPad, so invited an audience member up to the stage to stream the match on his phone.

After England scored their victory in the tense penalty, James jumped up and down for joy and the audience cheered.  

Becky Harris, who was in the audience, told Metro.co.uk: 'What were the chances! James was at the side of the stage just before [the show] was due to start with his iPad watching the game.

'Then he came out as the crowd started calling him and he brought the iPad out on stage and he and his co-star streamed the penalties.'

But Harris noted that in the end, the when the Late Late Show host was cursed with a bad signal on his tablet, he relied on an audience member to help. 

She said: 'It started buffering so a man on the front row started filling James in on what was happening. 

'James told him to come over with his phone and they all started watching it on stage together!'

The role is James' first since he relocated back to the UK following almost a decade-long stint in the US.

During his time in the US, he took on hosting duties of the late night chat show and famously interviewed megastars like Adele, Britney Spears and Pink for the Carpool Karaoke series.  

The play deconstructs politics, panic alarms and the conflict between public service and personal safety.

James last starred in a West End show a decade ago, in One Man, Two Guvnors in 2011 and before that, he performed in Martin Guerre in 1996.

Playwright Joe Penhall said: 'I began writing this play four years ago, as I became fascinated and appalled by the growing antipathy towards elected politicians.

'But during lockdown it looked like theatre was done for, so when I showed a rough first draft to Matthew and he had such a confident vision for it, I was simultaneously thrilled and doubtful of our chances.

'It's beyond exciting to be finally doing it and I feel utterly indebted to The Old Vic and everyone involved for getting us here.'