It was the courtroom drama that gripped the nation - and now the real-life events of the "Wagatha Christie trial" as it came to be known have been turned into an acclaimed play. And after a run on London's West End, the show is heading out on a UK tour in the spring.
The show, Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial, uses real court transcripts as footballers wives Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney faced off in court. It heads to Salford's Lowry Theatre from June 9-11 and will also visit theatres in Liverpool, Woking, Southend and Brighton.
From sting operations to sensational headlines, this verbatim production reveals what went on behind closed doors in the case that turned social media sleuthing into high drama. Audiences can see first-hand, and in the words of Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney, how the extraordinary week in court played out.
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The production opened on 15 November 2022 at the Wyndham’s Theatre where it played to packed houses and standing ovations. The trial that gripped the nation has been adapted from seven days of High Court transcripts by Liv Hennessy (finalist in the Paines Plough’s Women’s Prize for Playwriting) and directed by Lisa Spirling (Artistic Director of Theatre503).
Reprising their roles will be Lucy May Barker (Mamma Mia!, West End; Pine Hampstead Theatre) as Rebekah Vardy and Laura Dos Santos (Yes So I Said Yes, Finborough Theatre; My White Best Friend, Liverpool Everyman) as Coleen Rooney. Jonathan Broadbent (The Comedy of Errors, RSC; My Night with Reg, Donmar and West End) will play Hugh Tomlinson QC, Tom Turner as David Sherborne and Nathan McMullen (Misfits, E4; Hushabye Mountain, Hope Mill) playing multiple roles including Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy. Further casting is to be announced.
Vardy v Rooney is billed as "a story stranger than fiction, with lurid one-liners and revelations blurring the boundaries of tabloid and court case, social media and soap opera".
The play aims to capture the unique moment in British media history whichc captivated the country. But while public debate raged, only a handful of people witnessed what happened in the trial.
Now audiences can watch the intrigue and intricacies of the case live on stage in the West End and beyond.
Tickets will go on sale for The Lowry on Friday 3 February 2023 via www.thelowry.com or www.wagathaplay.co.uk. Tickets for the rest of the tour will go on sale soon.
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