Wagatha Christie hits the West End as Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney get a theatrical make-over
Stars of a new theatre production based around the multimillion-pound Wagatha Christie libel trial hope audiences “go away with sympathy” for both Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney.
West End audiences will soon see Lucy May Baker and Laura Dos Santos take the stage as the two WAGs in a play that’s scripted around seven days-worth of court transcripts.
Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial is on at Wyndham’s Theatre
Baker, who plays Vardy, told Sky News: “This is the women telling their story in their words in a way that we haven’t seen yet, I don’t think.
“We’re looking at two intelligent women who both have their own truths here and…I think it’s a really interesting way to get deeper into the actual stories.”
Dos Santos, who plays Rooney, says the case was “exposing for both of the women”.
“The way they’re treated on the stand by the barristers, how they behave, how they hold themselves together. I hope that people will go away with sympathy for both women… that an audience wouldn’t just be laughing at them and thinking ‘Ha-ha! Isn’t it funny these two WAGS going at it?’.”
The story, of course, began back in October 2019, when Rooney broke the internet with her ‘big reveal’ post on Instagram, where she announced to the world that she’d left a trail of fake-story breadcrumbs to work out who was selling stories from her private Instagram account to The Sun and that: “It’s… Rebecca Vardy’s account”.
Vardy sued Rooney for libel – insisting her name was unfairly dragged through the mud – and the case came to a head earlier in 2022 when the claim was heard at the High Court.
The nation (in part) was captivated.
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It all started with a social media post back in October 2019 which quickly went viral.
Vardy, 40, lost the case against 36-year-old Rooney, with the judge finding Rooney’s post “substantially true”.
But before that, catty WhatsApp messages would be read aloud by very expensive lawyers, accounts of phones being lost in the North Sea would emerge, and the nation would be transported back to World Cups of yesteryear and a time of tabloid tip-offs when WAG culture was both aspirational and a way to make money.
Liv Hennessy, the show’s writer, says the “trial had all the ingredients of a great drama.”
She explains: “What’s brilliant for us is that the British legal system is so inherently theatrical, the dialogue is very robust, there are costumes, wigs and really fantastic dramatic moments.”
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As well as the West End production, Channel 4 is producing a two-part TV drama on the case.
Due out before Christmas, it’ll feature a star turn from actor Michael Sheen who will appear as Rooney’s charismatic barrister David Sherborne.
Disney+ has also confirmed it is creating a three-part documentary series about the court battle, with “exclusive access” to Rooney.
Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial opens on 15 November at Wyndham’s Theatre and will be staged every Tuesday through until Christmas.
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John David Washington says he felt like he had to conceal his desire to act because of the external expectations of him being the child of Denzel and Pauletta Washington.
He tells Sky News it took some time for him to pursue an acting career, choosing football instead to assert his “independence” and create his own “identity” separate from his famous family.
“I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life… but I was hiding it,” he said.
“I had to conceal that passion based on my relationship to the world and more specifically, my folks being in the industry, so I chose ball.
“I loved ball, but I was sort of hiding my love for the arts under a helmet – literally an American football helmet – and so when I wanted to become an actor, when I decided to pursue it, that was a big shock to some people.”
The 40-year-old actor says when he decided to pursue an acting career, he kept the decision quiet.
“Some people didn’t know I was even pursuing it professionally until I got a job,” he said.
John David with fellow actor Danielle Deadwyler. Pic: David Lee/ Netflix
Since switching to acting, John David has starred in a number of notable roles including the protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Ron Stallworth in BlacKkKlansman and Joshua in The Creator.
He also led the stage revival of the 2022 Tony-nominated play The Piano Lesson on Broadway alongside Samuel L Jackson.
“He [Jackson] originated the role [I play] in 1987 at Yale with Lloyd Richards and August Wilson,” John David said.
“So it was of great importance for us to learn from both he and Michael Potts about August Wilson. It was a great blessing for me, I think, for all of us to have him present on set.”
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The Piano Lesson is the third August Wilson play to be adapted for the screen by Denzel Washington’s production company Mundy Lane Entertainment.
It is part of a pledge made by the Gladiator II actor to make all 10 of the playwright’s works into films.
The Netflix project is directed by another Washington family member, Malcolm, and stars most of the cast from the Broadway revival.
The Piano Lesson is Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut. Pic: Katia Washington/ Netflix
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh in the aftermath of the Great Depression, the film centres on a family heirloom, a piano, that is etched with the carvings of their family history made by their enslaved ancestor.
Malcolm says he started reading the play for the first time during the pandemic and immediately wanted to be involved in the film adaptation.
“I think with this movie, reclamation of story and identity is so central to the theme and it’s something that’s central to my life where I both acknowledge the fertile ground that I was raised on and who I am today.
“That’s what Wining Boy [played by Michael Potts] really is trying to do, he’s trying to build on that legacy, so that’s a story that really resonated with me.”
The filmmaker added: “I take all the gifts that my ancestors laid in front of me, and I’m trying to build something for the next generation to pass down – all of their gifts, plus mine to the next generation and let them build on it.”
Malcolm has dedicated his directorial debut to his mother, Pauletta Washington. Pic: David Lee/Netflix
Malcolm says his goal was to put family at the forefront of the production. By dedicating his feature debut to “Mama”, he is acknowledging the dedication and sacrifices that mothers make for the growth of their families.
“There’s so much pointing to my mother in particular, who inspired this adaptation so much. I see so much of her life in Berniece’s character [played by Danielle Deadwyler] – and that became a guiding light for me in this adaptation,” he said.
“As we made this thing and started reconnecting with our ancestors, my mum became like a kind of representative of them.
“She’s the matriarch of our family. She tells me about my grandparents and great-grandparents and the line that I come from, and I see them in her.
“And when the movie ends, I want people to kind of have that moment of reflection for their own lives. So in dedicating it to her, I was trying to dedicate it to all mums everywhere.”
The Piano Lesson is now available on Netflix.
Blockbuster Wicked has landed the largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue International.
The film, starring Oscar-nominated actress Cynthia Erivo and Grammy-winning pop star Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, surpassed both Gladiator II and Paddington In Peru.
It has also had the largest opening weekend for a stage musical adaptation in the cinema chain’s history.
A boss for Vue International said it had seen a “sea of pink and green” over the weekend.
Ariana Grande (left) as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the film. Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Released on Friday, Wicked is up 60% on Les Miserables’ opening weekend in 2012 and three times larger than the 2022 film adaptation of Matilda.
Founder and chief executive of Vue International Tim Richards said: “Vue has seen a sea of pink and green over the opening weekend of Wicked, which has shown continued high demand for the big screen experience.
“We saw record-breaking pre-sales for Wicked, followed by a chart-topping opening weekend – the biggest for 2024.”
The film is the first of two parts, with the second expected in November next year.
Wicked and Gladiator II – known together as Glicked – have reportedly failed to beat out Barbenheimer, Barbie and Oppenheimer, in its own opening weekend last summer.
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Glicked brought in £215m in worldwide ticket sales – with Wicked making the majority of that.
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