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James Corden and his theatrical co-stars delayed the beginning of their West End play Saturday evening so everyone could watch the end of the England football match.
Corden is currently co-starring with Anna Maxwell Martin and Zachary Hart at London’s Old Vic in political drama The Constituent.
But Corden, who had been watching the end of the match prior to walking out on stage, realised he wasn’t the only one wanting to see the end of the match.
He told The Guardian newspaper they decided to delay show time until the conclusion of the penalty shoot out that saw England go through to the semi-final of the tournament.
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 Guardian reports that the play ended up beginning 10 minutes later than billed.