Playwright Willy Russell has a unique talent for pulling heart-strings and pushing the laughter button, often at the same time.
His most famous female creations — Shirley, Mrs Johnstone and Rita — have been packing out theatres for around 40 years. And, yet, their relevance to these modern times is just as strong. His subtle one-liners will always survive.
Smash-hit start
It’s a smash-hit start to Perth Theatre’s revived subscription series as the initially-reluctant Professor Frank Bryant attempts to educate Rita.
The 26-year-old hairdresser is tired of her monotonous life. She despises the banal conversations with the customers and her pathetic social life. She doesn’t share her husband’s enthusiasm to start a family (he doesn’t know she’s on the pill).
She yearns to escape and decides to better herself by taking an Open University course in English literature, enlisting under the name of Rita (her real name is Susan — don’t ask!).
Frank has long been disillusioned, continually viewing his future through the bottom of a glass. His university room’s unique filing system is designed for easy access to the variety of usquebaugh (whisky) hidden behind the literary classics.
World-weary professor
But, slowly, the meeting of the two diverse minds becomes a case of “who’s teaching who”.
It is so appropriate that we have a world-weary (or even student-weary) professor performed by an actor of great experience (and far from weary!) from the cobbles of Coronation Street to the wards of Casualty alongside a recent student of RADA as the enthusiastic learner.
It’s the perfect mix and plaudits are well deserved for Gray O’Brien and Rachael-Rose McLaren, whose Liverpool accent was quite something coming from a Glaswegian!
The prof’s spacious university quarters would be the envy of most in the education system thanks to designer Karen Tennant.
Perthshire-based director Martin McCormack is no stranger to Perth Theatre having written and co-directed the community show Oh When The Saints and also wrote Pitlochry Theatre’s The Maggie Wall which is to be repeated this summer.
Educating Rita continues at Perth Theatre until April 1.
