Olivier and Tony Award-winning producer David Pugh has announced a new Summer 2021 tour of his critically acclaimed production of Willy Russell’s Educating Rita, starring Stephen Tompkinson and Jessica Johnson as Frank and Rita and directed by Max Roberts. The tour will open at the MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton on 20 July.
David Pugh said: “Rita is the most extraordinary character – she wanted to change and learn so much and that’s everything we’re all going through at the moment, to adapt to the world as it is now. What we know is that EDUCATING RITA gives you a great night out at the theatre and that’s the best any of us can hope for.”
Educating Rita tells the story of married hairdresser Rita, who enrols on an Open University course to expand her horizons, and her encounters with university tutor Frank. Frank is a frustrated poet, brilliant academic and dedicated drinker, who is less than enthusiastic about teaching Rita. However, Frank soon finds that his passion for literature is reignited by Rita, whose technical ability for the subject is limited by her lack of education, but whose enthusiasm Frank finds refreshing. The two soon realise how much they have to learn from each other.
Educating Rita was originally commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and played at the Warehouse Theatre, London in 1980, starring Julie Walters and Mark Kingston. Julie Walters reprised her role in the BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning film opposite Michael Caine.
Further tour details can be found here.
