Play about Wagatha Christie trial set for tour

Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial is going on a tour of English towns and cities.

The “verbatim production”, using High Court transcripts from the legal battle between Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy, has already been performed in the West End.

It will head to New Victoria Theatre in Woking, Liverpool’s Empire Theatre, the Palace Theatre in Southend, The Lowry in Salford and Brighton’s Theatre Royal throughout May and June.

After a successful debut at London’s Wyndham’s Theatre between November and January, the play was renewed for a run at the Ambassadors Theatre for six weeks in April and May.

Lucy May Barker, best known for her work in West End musicals like Mamma Mia! and The Woman In Black film, reprises her role as Vardy from April to June.

Laura Dos Santos, who has had TV roles in Doctor Who, Wallander and The Bill, continues as Rooney in the play, adapted from a High Court transcript by Liv Hennessy.

They are joined again by Jonathan Broadbent as Hugh Tomlinson, Vardy’s barrister, and Tom Turner as Rooney’s court representative David Sherborne.

Misfits star Nathan McMullen continues to play multiple roles including former England footballers Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy.

In a viral social media post – which prompted the Wagatha Christie tag, which combined popular mystery writer Agatha Christie’s name and the Wags (wives and girlfriends) of footballers – in October 2019 Coleen Rooney accused Rebekah Vardy of leaking “false stories” about her private life to the press.

Last summer, in a trial that gripped the nation, Vardy, 40, took 36-year-old Rooney to the High Court for a libel battle, but a judge found that the post was “substantially true”.

Tickets are on sale now for Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial at The Lowry, and the rest of the tour will be available from February 17.

Dates at the Ambassadors Theatre from April 6 to May 20 are also available now.

There will be a special performance on April 13 to raise money for legal aid charity Advocate.

Last year, Channel 4 aired a two-part film titled Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama, which starred Michael Sheen, Chanel Cresswell and Natalia Tena.

In August, Disney+ said it was creating a three-part documentary about the court battle with “exclusive access” to Rooney.