Trepidation would be too strong a word. Concern might be better. Having not seen or read Educating Rita for many years I was concerned that it might be dated, old-fashioned. Set in 1980 it tells the story of a working class girl/woman who wants to improve her lot and enrols in the Open University. Big deal then, no big deal now. Is this story relevant now when there is a so-called university on every block and the only qualification you need is the ability to write your name at the top of you A-level papers. But, it turned out, the relevance was irrelevant.
In all great art subject matter is irrelevant – any object, situation or human facet can be fair game. In drama any list of great plays that start on a shaky premise would be too long to enumerate. Conversely, the number of plays that manage to be dull or puerile while trying to deal with “important issues” would be equally long. What is important in a play is character, not story – if you are interested in the characters you’ll be interested in what they do. If you’re not, you won’t care.
It would be impossible not to be interested in Willy Russell’s Rita and Frank. Rita has the infectious, uninhibited enthusiasm and humour of the cliché Scouser while Frank has seen better days and finds solace in a bottle until the arrival of Rita revives his raison d’être. Frank the university lecturer, Rita the hairdresser who, as we used to say, wants to better herself. Frank initially feels good, holding all the cards, feeling superior in a benevolent sort of way. But Frank’s star is waning while Rita’s on the rise.
The story is essentially that of Shaw’s Pygmalion but to me this is a much deeper play. Frank is a much fuller, sadder character than Higgins and Rita an eager guinea pig rather than a reluctant one. Educating Rita (albeit after a re-write some twelve years ago) is a timeless piece. It deals with a complex, but not unfamiliar relationship, not a situation. Frank has problems with his wife and subsequent partner while Rita has outgrown her council house husband who just wants her to be normal and have a family. It’s all about imbalance, couples moving at different speeds, diverging, moving on. And the sad thing is it that happens to Frank and Rita too. Frank is set in his ways, letting drink get the better of him while Rita is on an express train heading out of here.
Educating Rita is sad and uplifting but, like life itself, is also a comedy. There are some wonderful one-liners and I particularly liked the bit where Rita arrives, like Eliza at Mrs. Eysnford-Hill’s tea party, trying to talk posh.
Dani Carbery and Mark Carey are perfectly cast and both turn in impeccable performances. Paul Milton, aided by an elaborate set by Corin Hayes, manages to conjure up the dusty atmosphere of a provincial university and establish the pace to keep things nicely moving along. It would be hard to fault this production of Educating Rita. I thoroughly enjoyed it. ★★★★★ Michael Hasted 10/12/14
