James Corden returns to the West End

Starring in political drama The Constituent

James Corden is to return to the London stage this summer, 13 years after his success in One Man, Two Guvnors.

The comic, who stood down from his US talk show last year, stars in the political drama The Constituent when the play makes its world premiere at the Old Vic Theatre.

He stars as an ex-serviceman whose life is in freefall when he goes to the constituency surgery of a hard-woking MP, played by Motherland star Anna Maxwell Martin, and challenges her ideals of public office.

With topical overtones, the play is said to ‘deconstruct politics, panic alarms and the conflict between public service and personal safety’.

The play is written by Joe Penhall, who previously penned Sunny Afternoon, and is directed by Old Vic artistic director Matthew Warchus.

Warchus said: ‘In a theatre once mainly renowned for classic revivals, I’m excited to present The Old Vic’s 25th world premiere since my tenure began in 2015 – this urgently topical new play from Joe Penhall set in a local MP’s constituency office.

‘In a landscape of increasing threat, what place is there for empathy? Is an open door policy now dependent on stab vests?’

Corden also previously appeared on stage in Alan Bennett’s The History Boys .

Tickets for The Constituent are on sale now. It runs from June 13 to August 10.

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Published: 20 Mar 2024