Mullen, the show’s director and co-host, had reportedly been planning around the World Cup for about a year with fellow comic Max Kantor. A football-themed musical was considered before the pair settled on a format that could change from week to week.
“The idea was basically, what can we do that's fun?” Mullen said. “I don't want to say an easy lift, but something that's fun and can change every week with the World Cup.”
That flexibility is central to the concept. The show opens with Mullen recapping the tournament’s matches and personalities, before Kantor offers an entirely different kind of update: what has happened in his own life.
Kantor described the result as “avant-garde a little bit,” but the target is broad rather than exclusive. “We do a really nice job of not making the show just full of inside jokes about football,” he said.
The production reportedly draws on the culture surrounding major tournaments as much as the action itself. One routine counts David Beckham adverts during a match, while another revives the deafening vuvuzela noise associated with the 2010 World Cup.
“We do a thing right now where we invite a local band called the 'Vuzelas,'” Mullen said. “It is so loud in the small theatre, it's deafening.”
Astro turf, unusual footballs and guest appearances add to the deliberately unpredictable atmosphere. Mullen approaches the sport as a regular adult-league player; Kantor plays the role of the casual American fan, even joking that his team considers him a jinx.
That contrast gives the show its charm. “We treat the World Cup as an umbrella topic,” Kantor said. “There's so much that falls underneath, so we're embracing the vibe and the spirit of it.”
As the tournament progresses, the next instalment of The Soccer Show will have another week of football culture-and another chance to turn it into comedy.