James Corden teaching former footballers to act Shakespeare is ridiculous fun

The Late Late Show is in London this week, so James Corden and his team were clearly looking for some uniquely British stories to tell — and somehow, they ended up with ex-professional footballers (or soccer players, if you’re in the U.S.) combined with Shakespeare at the Globe theatre.

In the clip above, Corden gathers former pros Neil Ruddock, Rachel Yankey, Paul Merson, Carlton Palmer, and Carlton Cole for a sweary re-enactment of Romeo and Juliet, all of which is eventually performed for some confused audience members.

Are mistakes made? Absolutely. But you certainly can’t fault the passion.