Educating Rita - Willy Russell

Willy Russell is a playwright from Liverrpool, England. He grew up in a poor council estate and did not enjoy school. He became a ladies hairdresser after leaving education. He later returned to education and trained to become a lecturer while writing in his spare time. Educating Rita is set in 1980's Liverpool and stars Rita, a twenty six year old hairdresser, and Frank, a University lecturer in his fifties. The play follows Rita's experience of becoming a mature student and the changes that occur in her life due to the choice and freedom that come with an education. As you can see, Russell has had experience of both Frank and Rita's ...  Read the complete review

Frank is a disaffected, alcoholic, English lecturer at University. His relationship and career are falling apart around his ears, and he doesn't care. Enter Rita, a passionate, head-strong working class hairdresser who wants to better herself through Frank's Open University teaching. Set in the Thatcher era, Educating Rita is a touching, funny, and significant play that challenges pre-conceived ideas of class. Written by Willy Russell, the play is a success because of the journey both of the main characters go on. I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that both are able to learn something from each-other. As a teacher, we study this in ...  Read the complete review

Introduction -------------- Do you remember the days when you were at school? When you were being taught all those subjects in order to gain yourself a good grade to get a good job and become intelligent. Perhaps the best way to empathise with this book is to have taken English Literature at A-level or maybes to have just done A-levels. One thing is for certain and that is this book deals greatly with the affects of growing intelligent. Where I found my most empathy with this book from was studying A-level English Literature. Biography ----------- Willy Russell grew up just outside Liverpool where he attended school and failed. He was then ...  Read the complete review