James Corden reunited with his old One Man, Two Guvnors castmates on Twitter to show their support for the National Theatre amid the coronavirus crisis.
Theatres have taken a hit during the current Covid-19 pandemic, as all productions have been halted and theatres closed to adhere to lockdown measures put in place to try and control the spread of coronavirus.
The National Theatre shut its door, like the rest of the West End, and hoping to raise donations to support the theatre industry, it streamed One Man, Two Guvnors on YouTube for fans to watch.
The recording was of when James Corden starred in the show as Francis Henshall back in 2011.
He’s since gone on to host The Late Late Show with James Corden over in the US, but joined the cast for a live video chat following the performance airing online.
James credited the National Theatre and those he worked alongside during his time there and said he’s excited for the theatre to finally open its doors again once safe to do so.
‘The National Theatre is full of the least pretentious, kindest, most hard-working humble you could ever really meet in a professional capacity. There’s an incredible feeling there that you’re all in something together,’ he said.
‘All three shows, six productions, you’re in it together, walking together, drinking together, eating together, it is an unbelievably special place.’
James continued by reaching out to those involved with the National Theatre, who now find themselves out of work.
He said: ‘You are part of something really special.
‘To all of the people watching this who work at the National Theatre… and they’re feeling like they’re on their own and they’re feeling like they’re distant from that community, you should know that even when you don’t work there any more, and you haven’t worked there for many years, you still feel like you’re part of it.
‘I’m so excited for it to open its doors again, as I am for every theatre in London, to open its doors again and feel this rush of people who I really think are going to be aching for a collective experience.
‘And there’s nowhere, I think, that offers a theatrical experience than in London and the pinnacle of that is the National.’
His moving tribute made Nick Hytner, who was director of One Man, Two Guvnors tear up as he told James his little speech had made him all ’emotional’.
Also joining the video was Jemima Rooper (who played Rachel Crabbe), Oliver Chris (Stanley Stubbers) and the play’s writer Richard Bean.
The National Theatre has uploaded the full performance of One Man, Two Guvnors, starring James, to its YouTube channel in a bid to raise donations for the theatre industry.
Andrew Lloyd Webber is following suit and streaming his hit musical theatre shows on new YouTube channel The Show Must Go On every week during lockdown for a limited 48 hour period.
It comes as fans are calling for movie bosses to release upcoming films on streaming services, instead of delaying their released dates because of the pandemic.
Top Gun: Maverick is the latest movie to confirm its release has now been pushed back until December later this year.
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus is continuing to rise in the UK, with figures nearly reaching 29,500 and number of deaths hitting 2,352.
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