The star of Vardy vs Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial has said how certain references in the show are tailor-made for a Liverpool crowd.
The theatre adaptation of the high profile libel case is set to arrive at the Liverpool Empire on Sunday. Laura Dos Santos plays Coleen Rooney in the show and the actor from Crosby told the ECHO she can't wait to perform in front of her home crowd.
She said: "It will have a different impact in Liverpool. A Liverpool audience love references to them, their city and things they know."
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The play is edited from seven days of High Court transcripts and Laura said the negative depiction of the outlet Rebekah Vardy was accused of selling stories to will particularly resonate in the city. Coleen's real life court statement will also be recreated on the stage - and Laura vowed the Croxteth native's proud Merseyside connections will go down a storm with Scousers as they have already been a hit with audiences on the West End.
She said: "When Coleen is giving her testimony, she is very honest and very open so she talks about things that people in our audience know. Coleen references being a patron for Alder Hey and, in one of the shows, some women in the crowd whooped and cheered. We've been bigging up the Liverpool audience to our company so we need the people of Liverpool to not let us down, to come and to show their support and get behind us."
Laura is well versed in what works for a Liverpool audience as the Little Boy Blue star first performed on stage in her home city in 2005. Laura admitted she was in disbelief when she landed the role of such a famous Scouser as she spoke about what it takes to transform into Coleen for the show.
She told the ECHO: "I don't think in a million years I thought I would be playing Coleen Rooney but what an amazing gift. For me certainly what helped it is we have their words so the way they spoke naturally was a key into how they were feeling at the time."
The actor has been wowed by the audience response to the show since it premiered, but admitted she was baffled by one criticism, which drew attention to her authentic accent. She said: "Not that it's all about reviews but there were a few reviews that were fixated on Coleen's Scouse accent.
"I don't know what accent they expected her to have but one of them said it was an exaggerated Scouse accent. And I thought you've clearly never been to Liverpool if you think this is an exaggerated Scouse accent."
The internet exploded when Coleen detailed her iconic sting operation to uncover who had been leaking false stories about her. However, Laura is not active on social media so wasn't hooked by the WAG dispute until it was played out in court.
The adaptation from writer, Liv Hennessy, features the "juicy bits" from last year's trial, with the addition of two pundits to narrate the proceedings. Laura said this breaks up the courtroom drama and brings a fresh new perspective to the trial that captivated the nation.
She said: "Everyone was fascinated by it and they all followed the case but they only got little soundbites that were in the news. This is an opportunity for them to hear the 'match highlights' from the seven day court case." She added: "Even if you didn't follow social media and think that's not for me, then there's still loads to get out of the show. Just come and give it a go because you won't be disappointed."
Vardy vs Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial is on at the Liverpool Empire on May 28. You can find tickets on how to get tickets here
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