Eventide presents: Educating Rita

Directed by Steve Ross.  Frank: Jody O’Neil    Rita:  Erica Morris

Set Design:  Toby Wilson • Costume Design: Judy Chesley • Lighting Design: Greg Hamm

“Educating Rita” explores the way in which a woman, in her late twenties, has to deal with everyday life, conflict change and different phases as she becomes educated. It is a comical interpretation of Willy Russell’s own life as a young Liverpudlian hairdresser and his aspirations to become educated.
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.