
Educating Rita
By Willy Russell
Directed by Kerrin Roberts
An amateur production by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd
At school, Rita needed to conform and like her friends was disdainful of teachers and lessons. But at age 26 she wants to step away from what society and her family expect of her and seeks to learn and grow. She signs up for an Open University English literature course and has been paired with Frank, a lecturer and one-time poet at a βproper universityβ.
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She bursts into Frankβs life. Pupil looking for teacher, but who is interviewing who? Her fresh and frank views on some of the worldβs greatest writers amuse but will not result in her passing examinations. She longs to be like the βproperβ students at the university, who sit on the grass and talk about literature and society. Will she get her wish?
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Frank would definitely approve of βEducating Ritaβ being performed in the bar at BLT. A jaded academic, who lives for the pub and needs the extra money from being an Open University tutor, is soon bowled over by Ritaβs uniqueness and enthusiasm. There is no doubt that this play is just as much about his education and whether he can be steered away for his beloved whiskey and inevitable fate.
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The Royal Shakespeare Company commissioned Willy Russell to write a play for the Warehouse in London. We can easily imagine the Bardβs appreciation for Russellβs two engaging protagonists and his amusement at Ritaβs take on his own works. The play opened in 1980 and won an Olivier Award before going on to being a highly successful award-winning movie.
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The themes it explores are timeless and even more than 40 years later we are still grappling with how to improve our educational institutions, societal divides and prejudices, and the importance of personal choice.
Cast
Frank | Ross Holland |
Rita | Naomi Bowman |