England beat Switzerland on penalties at Euro 2024 on Saturday and the shootout delayed the start of a James Corden play
(Image credit: Getty Images)
England advanced to the semi-finals of Euro 2024 on Saturday after beating Switzerland on penalties in Dusseldorf as fans all over the country stopped what they were doing to watch the shootout.
That included James Corden and the cast members of his play, The Constituent, which was due to start at the same time as the quarter-final shootout in Germany.
So instead of beginning the play at the usual time, Corden came out on stage to watch the penalties with the audience and his fellow cast members, talking them through the action as he watched on a tablet.
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Corden told The Guardian: "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 [Maxwell-Martin] and Zach [Hart] went out on stage with an iPad... It was really wonderful, alive, a glorious collective experience."
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And he added: "One of my favourite moments that I’ve ever had really."
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Audience member Carla Feltham told the PA news agency: "It was incredible watching the penalties with the cast, and the atmosphere was amazing.
"It's not every day something like that happens - and the entire audience loved it. It was amazing that England got through.
"I heard that a few shows in London struggled with audience members trying to look at their phones for the score, so this was perfect and avoided that."
The play started between 10 and 15 minutes late, but Ms Feltham added: "No one at all minded."
Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.
