The world premiere of Joe Penhall's political production The Constituent' happened last week at the Old Vic theatre. Starring James Corden and Anna Maxwell, the play explores politics, empathy, and safety in the world of local politicians. Corden portrays an ex-serviceman, while Maxwell Martin plays an opposition backbencher. Penhall cites his fascination with growing antipathy towards elected politicians as the inspiration behind The Constituent. Find out what the critics had to say about this brand-new show below!

Timeout: "It's a decent play and opening in the middle of a general election campaign, it's nothing if not timely, and Corden and (especially) Maxwell Martin are great. It's not the era-defining blockbuster Corden's two previous stage outings were. But it proves he's an actor of range and substance, while there is simply no world in which 90 minutes in the company of Anna Maxwell Martin is a bad thing."

Independent: "Nevertheless, 90 minutes whip by, important points are raised, some great acting occurs, and there's something to be said for the fact that like the decent MPs Penhall wants to champion these three actors are doing their best in a structure that's fundamentally flawed."

WhatsOnStage: "As a star vehicle for Corden and Maxwell Martin, The Constituent works well enough. There's some cracking dialogue and the balance between comic and bleak is exquisitely handled, but it smacks of a very fine writer wanting to dash off something relevant and timely, without really offering anything genuinely illuminating or new. The abrupt ending is unsatisfying but, to be fair, that may be Penhall's point: that for people in Alec's precarious position, there is no satisfying ending."

The Telegraph: "This is a subtler description of unreliable, frayed masculinity than we saw in his calling-card One Man, Two Guvnors. It doesn't have the same kick, but maybe that's the point. Maxwell Martin delivers a sympathetic if sketchy evocation of a conviction politician and harassed mother torn between supporting strangers and safeguarding her family: clipped, legalistic, jittery, concerned.

Whatever the outcome of the election, Penhall's depiction of MPs on the frontline looks set to remain valid and, I'll stick my head above the parapet, it's good to have Corden back where he belongs, on the British stage."

The Guardian: "The outbursts of violence are few but they startle when they come; so are the sudden bursts of tears, which are moving. In the end, it is not the play you imagine it to be, with no binary equation of victim/villain. Each of these characters is a victim of the system, hanging on, just even Hart's comical protection officer, whose outburst about his ground-down rights contains a sting."