Willy Russell's Educating Rita

Willy Russell's Educating Rita

The play is in a naturalistic setting. The whole play takes place

inside one room, namely Frank’s office; a book-lined study in a

university in northern England. And by adhering to the unity of place

Willy Russell is not just able to concentrate on the drama, but also

the humour of the play. The play is set in year it was written, 1985.

The play itself is structured into two Acts. The first act deals with

Rita beginning her search and her education, trying desperately to fit

into Frank’s world. Frank is the teacher, the one with all the

knowledge. He’s always saying the right words. Rita looks up to Frank.

Whereas on the other hand you have his opposite, Rita, who is

uneducated, loud, out spoken and common. Rita breezes into Frank’s

life like a breath of fresh air. The story of the play is that of the

developing and changing relationship between the two of them both as

teacher and student and also on a more personal level. During the play

the character of Rita is completely transformed. And this needs to be

shown through the way the actors play their characters and the way

they interact on the stage.

In the beginning she struggles greatly with her language skills, only

managing to develop the necessary skills after her success at the

summer school, to succeed in the second act.

As the first act experiences the breakdown of Rita’s marriage with

Denny; the second half of the play shows evidence of a strong rift

between Frank and his partner Julia.

The first point at which the audience comes face to face with the

characters is Act 1 Scene 1. This scene is important because it

introduces t...

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...ly change her life in any way at all, but

one thing she has gained is the power of choice. She is able to make

more decisions in her own life and become who she wants to be. These

are not trivial choices like Denny choosing between eight different

types of lager down the pub, but real major choices that could affect

the whole direction that her life takes. She has a number of

opportunities open to her. She can either, go and make a fresh start

in Australia with Frank, carry on working in the bistro, return to her

old job at the hairdressers or she could choose something totally

different. Like having a baby for example, now that she has ‘found

herself’. But the point is it’s her decision, she has become a woman

who is able to make wise and informed choices about the direction that

her life will take from this point on.