Educating Rita
When it comes to stage productions touching on issues of class, no-one does it better than Willy Russell, whose shows have stood the test of time to remain celebrated parts of British culture in the modern day. With Educating Rita he famously pitted an Open University lecturer in the form of Dr Frank Bryant against a Liverpudlian hairdresser in the form of Rita/Susan, who both form a close bond of admiration over the course of a year. The show is transferring from the Menier Chocolate Factory to the West End this summer and will run in repertoire alongside Shirley Valentine at Trafalgar Studios 1 until October 2010.
With shows like Blood Brothers, Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine, Willy Russell proved that he is one of the guiding forces in British theatre, with themes of class and life’s opportunities shining through. All of them are considered classics with Blood Brothers now amongst the longest running musicals in the West End and they are just three shows from a long list of credits that he has to his name. Russell’s other work includes One for the Road, Stags and Hens and, more recently, his novel The Wrong Boy.
But Educating Rita is a show that certainly stands out and this has been cemented by the famous movie version. The Award-winning classic starred Michael Caine as Frank alongside Julie Walters as Rita/Susan and has remained popular many years after its release.
In their place are Tim Piggott-Smith and Laura Dos Santos, who are both talented performers with many London credits to their names. Audiences will witness Dos Santos’s Rita (whose name is later revealed to be Susan) as she attends the Open University under the guide of Piggott-Smith’s Frank and has a profound effect on the old lecturer. Though Frank was hoping to pass on his knowledge to a new generation, he realises that he has a lot to learn from this woman, with their differing backgrounds giving them a wealth of experiences to share and contrast.
Piggott-Smith was recently nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance in Lucy Prebble’s Enron at the Noel Coward/Royal Court Theatre, with further credits across the capital. Dos Santos has appeared in television shows like Bad Girls and stage productions like On the Middle Day at the Old Vic Theatre.
Educating Rita will be appearing in repertoire with Shirley Valentine at Trafalgar Studios 1 from Monday 26th July 2010 (previews from Thursday 8th July 2010) until Saturday 30th October 2010.
