Scoring tickets to Vardy V Rooney at the Theatre Royal Brighton will lift your spirits! 

The Theatre Royal Brighton always impresses with the range of shows it has on offer, this year alone, I’ve seen a poignant, gritty play straight from the West End, a pantomime starring Ian McKellen and a show about an ABBA tribute band. The Theatre Royal Brighton's programme is as diverse as the city, meaning it truly is a theatre for all audiences. I defy you to visit this theatre and not draw a breath at the beautiful building itself, being over 200 years old, and one of the oldest theatres in the country, gives a timeless decadence to your night out. After enjoying a pre-show meal at a neighbouring restaurant and enjoying the atmosphere of a night out in the city, we headed to the theatre to see Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial.

The play is based on the Instagram-fuelled libel case involving two high profile women, who both happen to be married to famous footballers, Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy. The football references throughout the play brought an element of fun and rivalry. Curtain rises to Coleen solo on stage, reading out what is now famously referred to as "the reveal post", when she originally accused Rebekah Vardy of leaking her private stories to the press. We are then gifted two amazing football pundits, complete with hyperbole, and obligatory earpieces and are given a potted history of the case, talking us through the trial and what to expect, like a Saturday game at Stamford Bridge.

Life imitating art is key to this show, you would be forgiven for thinking artist licence had been taken for humorous effect, but most of the events covered actually happened. For example, the phone belonging to Rebekah’s agent which allegedly held incriminating messages, did mysteriously end up at the bottom of the ocean. Coleen and Rebekah are perfectly depicted, giving each other dirty looks and smug faces at every opportunity. The legal teams had the perfect balance of intimidating and mockery of the cases main points. I loved the stop start action, whereby we were given insight into WhatsApp messages between the two women at the heart of the story, this added a large chunk of humour to an already light, fun play. Legal point scoring was celebrated with impressive tableau goal celebrations and stadium soundtracks of crowds cheering. Seeing a man dressed in full court attire pretending to kick a ball is a treat I didn’t realise I needed to see.

Whether you followed the original case back in 2022 or not, Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial, is just the perfect escapism, that will have you laughing throughout. Score tickets while you can!

Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial is showing at the Theatre Royal Brighton until Saturday 17th June so grab your tickets now!

Caroline