16 May – 28 June
It is exactly forty-five years since Willy Russell’s Educating Rita first graced the stage at London’s Warehouse Theatre in June 1980. Commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, it initially starred Julie Walters who then went on to portray Rita in Lewis Gilbert’s 1983 much-loved film version, also starring Michael Caine. Both film and play, featuring Russell’s uniquely bittersweet blend of wit, warmth and social commentary, have combined to make it one of the most popular stories of recent times. The Barn Theatre’s latest offering seeks to bring this timeless tale about the transformative power of education to a fresh audience. The result is a compelling and absorbing two-hander.
Move over, Michael and Julie: Ellie Clayton and Justin Edwards excel in the lead roles, forging an instant chemistry which endears them immediately to the audience. Clayton is particularly impressive, delivering the majority of the lines as Rita, a bored and disillusioned working-class hairdresser who longs for change, signing up to the Open University’s English Literature course in an attempt to broaden her horizons and escape her mundane, unfulfilling existence. Her desire, simply put, is to learn “everything”. Clayton brings a full range of acting skills to bear on the role, conveying Rita’s vivacity, energy and youthful exuberance whilst also teasing out her doubts, fears and inhibitions with a remarkably strong and thoroughly engaging performance. Edwards is also highly believable as her tutor Frank, a world-weary alcoholic and failed poet whose dull life is reinvigorated by his new student. Their subsequent inversion of roles is the focal point of this particularly enjoyable drama – Rita is intelligent but not well-educated; Frank is educated but struggles to know how to live without his dependence on alcohol. It is a narrative paradox which both leads bring to life with genuine versatility and range as the tutor arguably learns more from his student than she does from him.
Rita and Frank’s story is played out in a single location – the latter’s university office. Cory Shipp’s simple set design is dominated by Frank’s bookcase which cleverly and amusingly doubles as his drinks cabinet. Allied to Ben Ormerod’s clever lighting, this allows simple but highly effective scene transitions as Edwards and Clayton themselves make minor tweaks to both costumes and props with minimal fuss, lending the play a fluidity which might otherwise make a two-hour two-hander feel drawn out and rather demanding to watch. And yet this production flows without ever dissipating the rising intensity and tension of the drama which unfolds.
The strength of the play, and indeed its enduring appeal almost half a century after its debut, lies in the timeless themes it explores. As director Stephen Unwin says, Educating Rita “is about class, education and opportunity”, Russell’s stock-in-trade themes, and ones which will resonate with a modern audience just as much as they would have in 1980. As with all great plays, it is the study of human behaviour, the motives and emotions of the characters, as well as their stories which engage us, not where and when they take place. Sadly, and as with many of the Barn’s productions, it is a shame that such a charming and affecting tale will not extend beyond Cirencester. It deserves a wider audience.
★★★★★ Tony Clarke 11 June 2025
Photo credit: Alex Tabrizi
