Liv Hennessy

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Olivia Hennessy is an English playwright. She adapted Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial for the West End, which was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. Her first play Colostrum was a finalist for the Women's Prize for Playwriting.

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Early life

Hennessy is from Hereford. She joined the Young Writers programme at Pentabus in Shropshire. [1]

Career

Hennessy began her career working as a story editor on the soap opera Emmerdale . Hennessy's first full length play Colostrum, set on a West Midlands farm, [2] was a finalist for the inaugural Women's Prize for Playwriting. [3] Hennessy was selected for the 2023 BBC Writers Pilot programme. [4] [5]

In 2022, Hennessy was approached by director Lisa Spirling to adapt the Wagatha Christie defamation case for the stage. Regarding the story, Hennessy told BBC News, "This case couldn't have happened 10 years ago, and it probably won't happen in 10 years, because media law is catching up with how we operate on social media every day". [6] [7] Marking Hennessy's West End, Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial premiered at the Wyndham's Theatre in November 2022 [8] before having a run at the Ambassadors Theatre and a tour in 2023. [9] [10] The production starred Lucy May Barker and Laura Dos Santos. Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play. [11]

At the end of 2024, Hennessy returned to Pentabus when she won the 2025 Jerwood Foundation Writer in Residence bursary. [12]

References

  1. ↑ Pentaus, Tom (11 December 2024). "Wagatha Christie writer 'excited' to return to county theatre where it all began..." Shropshire Star. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  2. ↑ "Women's Prize for Playwriting: Meet the Finalists". Breaking Character. 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  3. ↑ Wood, Alex (10 September 2020). "Finalists announced for inaugural Women's Prize for Playwriting". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  4. ↑ "Pilot 2023 - Writers and Production Companies Announced". BBC Writers. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  5. ↑ "503Studio: Making Verbatim Theatre Theatrical". Theatre503.[ dead link ]
  6. ↑ Bushby, Helen (15 November 2022). "Wagatha play won't punch down at Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney, writer says". BBC News. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  7. ↑ Bloodworth, Adam (20 April 2023). "Wagatha Christie writer: 'Vardy and Rooney are both incredibly clever'". City AM. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  8. ↑ Akbar, Arifa (23 November 2022). "Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial review – courtroom panto". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  9. ↑ Stewart, Greg (12 April 2023). "Review: Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial at The Ambassadors Theatre". Theatre Weekly. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  10. ↑ "Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial West End cast announced and UK & Ireland tour". West End Theatre. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  11. ↑ "Olivier awards 2024: complete list of nominations". The Guardian. 2024-03-12. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  12. ↑ Chambers, Katie (10 December 2024). "Liv Hennessy named Pentabus' first Jerwood Writer in Residence". The Stage. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
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