Educating Rita

Description

University lecturer Frank needs to earn some extra money so he agrees to tutor an Open University student. His student Rita is a brash, earthy hairdresser with a recently discovered passion for higher education, much to the dismay of her husband Denny. In her attempts to appreciate literature, Rita challenges the attitudes of a traditional university, teaching Frank to question his own understanding of his work and himself. The play explores te realationship betrween student and tutot.

The play was inspired by Willy's experiences at evening classes. Much of the comedy arises from Rita's fresh, unschooled reaction to the classics of English literature, but she is never patronised by the author, who recognises from his own experience that education is a means of escape from one's own circumstances.

Eductaing Rita is a small intimate play, but it tells a story of big ideas, ideas close te Willly Russell's heart. There is a lot of humour in the writing, but it is a serious play about class and choice.