Educating Rita
Educating Rita | |
---|---|
Written by | Willy Russell |
Date premiered | June 1980 |
Place premiered | Donmar Warehouse London |
Original language | English |
Subject | Pygmalion-style drama about a hairdresser's literary quest. |
Genre | Comedy |
Educating Rita is a stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell. It is a play for two actors set entirely in the office of an Open University tutor.
Commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Educating Rita premièred at The Warehouse, London, in June 1980 starring Julie Walters and Mark Kingston. The play was directed by Mike Ockrent.
Plot summary
The plays follows the relationship between a 26-year-old
Susan (who initially calls herself Rita), dissatisfied with the routine of her work and social life, seeks inner growth by signing up for and attending an Open University course in English Literature. The play opens as 'Rita' meets her tutor, Frank, for the first time. Frank is a middle-aged, alcoholic career academic who has taken on the tutorship to pay for his drink. The two have an immediate and profound effect on one another; Frank is impressed by Susan's verve and earnestness and is forced to re-examine his attitudes and position in life; Susan finds Frank's tutelage opens doors to a bohemian lifestyle and a new self-confidence. However, Frank's bitterness and cynicism return as he notices Susan beginning to adopt the pretensions of the university culture he despises. Susan becomes disillusioned by a friend's attempted suicide and realises that her new social niche is rife with the same dishonesty and superficiality she had previously sought to escape. The play ends as Frank, sent to Australia on a sabbatical, welcomes the possibilities of the change.
Themes
The play deals with the concept of freedom, change, Britain's class system, the shortcomings of institutional education, and the nature of self-development and of personal relationships. The play borrows from the 1913 George Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion, itself based upon archetypes from Greek myth.
Film adaptation
The play was adapted by Russell for a 1983 film with Michael Caine and Julie Walters, directed by Lewis Gilbert.
Radio adaptation
The play was adapted by Russell for radio in 2009. It starred Bill Nighy and Laura Dos Santos directed by Kirsty Williams, and was a 90-minute play broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Boxing Day 2009.[2]
Revivals
In 1987, Laurie Metcalf starred as Rita in a production Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre produced by the Steppenwolf Theater Company.[3]
From June to July 2001, the Williamstown Theatre Festival mounted a production of Educating Rita at the Nikos Stage starring Jacqueline McKenzie as Rita and Edward Herrmann as Frank. The production was directed by Bruce Paltrow[4] and was critically acclaimed with critics touting McKenzie's performance as "wonderfully beguiling and irrepressible...one of the best performances of the year".[5]
From 26 March to 8 May 2010, as part of the Willy Russell season at the
A 35th anniversary production was staged at Liverpool Playhouse from 6 February to 7 March 2015, starring Leanne Best as Rita and Con O'Neill as Frank, directed by Gemma Bodinetz. The same year the Chichester Festival staged a production with Lenny Henry and Lashana Lynch as Frank and Rita.[6]
Awards and nominations
The original production received the 1980
See also
- Galatea of Greek mythology
- My Fair Lady
- Pretty Woman
References
- ^ Act 1 consists of seven scenes running from January to May, and Act 2 a further seven running from September to December. Source: Programme for run at Liverpool Playhouse, 1981
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Saturday Drama, Educating Rita". BBC. Retrieved Sep 1, 2021.
- ^ New York Times Metcalf accessed 2-13-20122
- ^ "Educating Rita | Williamstown Theatre Festival". wtfestival.org. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ^ "WTF after 50 years: a personal recollection". Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ^ "Lenny Henry fluffing his lines makes us warm to him even more". the Guardian. Jun 24, 2015. Retrieved Sep 1, 2021.
- ^ "Olivier Awards, 1980" officiallondontheatre.com, retrieved 24, 2019
Further reading
- Russell, Willy (1981). Educating Rita: A Comedy (First ed.). London: Samuel French. ISBN 0-573-11115-4.
External links
- Educating Rita at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Educating Rita at IMDb
- Film Review: Educating Rita Archived 2019-11-21 at the Wayback Machine