Educating Rita - Willy Russell

Skillfully written by the famous Liverpudlian playwright, Willy Russell, Educating Rita is a "must read" play for every drama student. (It is a modern fictitious play recommended for fourteen to eighteen year olds of all reading abilities). (Some of Willy Russell’s other works include Shirley Valentine, Blood Brothers, Our Day Out and Stags And Hens.) ---INTRODUCTION--- Educating Rita was first written and performed in the 1980s. The play is actually set in the year that it was written, 1985. It made it's debut in the world of theatre - and soon afterwards, due to it's huge success, it was ... more

How can a book like Educating Rita end up on my GCSE syllabus? Not only have we watched the dreadful film, with the attrocious music and acting, but we also had to pick our way through the book. I must say that this play alone is making my life so dull it's unbelievable. The story tells of a young woman born into a working class environment. She feels that simply completing one course at the open university will move her up to middle class. It's ludicrous. There isn't much else happening in the story and there are only two characters all together. On the plus side, I got an A* for my speaking ... more

Willy Russell wrote this play. He wrote Educating Rita in 1979. The play is set in a book-lined study within a university in Northern England. This university runs an open university. In this play Willy Russell has created a unity of place, which means there is only one stage set in the entire play, which is Frank’s study. This makes the play easier to understand because you learn a lot more about each character and their personalities. There are only two characters that actually converse in this play but we hear about others, like Julia who is Frank’s partner and Rita’s husband Denny. Frank ... more

Willy Russell is a playwright from Liverrpool, England. He grew up in a poor council estate and did not enjoy school. He became a ladies hairdresser after leaving education. He later returned to education and trained to become a lecturer while writing in his spare time. Educating Rita is set in 1980's Liverpool and stars Rita, a twenty six year old hairdresser, and Frank, a University lecturer in his fifties. The play follows Rita's experience of becoming a mature student and the changes that occur in her life due to the choice and freedom that come with an education. As you can see, Russell ... more

Willy Russell's "Educating Rita" is a wonderful play - but frequently misunderstood. It is essentially a play to be watched, not read. Whether it was Russell's intention or not, most of the entertainment comes from good portrayal of the characters, rather than from what they say alone. As a play with a moral, it is superb. Russell's attack on the education system, as well as the ignorance of the individual, as opposed to that of the lower classes (as it is often, but wrongly, interpreted) is handled with satire and subtlety. My advice is to see a well-produced performance before reading the ... more