Educating Rita - Willy Russell > Reviews (13)

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 has a drinking problem, he thinks very little of his job and doesn’t find it challenging. He had a little success in writing poetry. It was because of poetry that he split up from his first wife.
Rita is a 26-year-old working class hairdresser who smokes and swears a lot. She is inquisitive and wants to know everything, which is why she enrolled on an Open University course. She has come from a poor background and is ready to put that behind her and risk her marriage to become an educated woman.
As you can see they are two very different characters which makes the play very interesting. Act 1 Scene 1 was very informative and well thought of because in the first scene of any book the author has to have the readers interest and has to introduce the characters and tell the reader a bit about each character. Willy Russell has used very effective language and has made detailed descriptions of the scene setting.
What makes the play good is the solid ending that Willy Russell has created.
As I have been doing this for my English coursework I have noticed a lot of symbolic features, which is probably why I adore this book so much.
This play is a must read and i recomend it to anyone who likes a good book to settle down and read.