Review: Educating Rita (Reading Rep)

Review by Ruth Sealey

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Willy Russell’s Educating Rita, currently playing at Reading Rep Theatre, invites the audience into the study of a university professor and offers a close-up view of a complicated relationship unfolding between teacher and student. As a teacher myself, I am only too aware of the barriers students face in education today, and the question remains whether a play written in 1982, and turned into a film in 1983 with Howard Caine and Julie Walters in the main roles, still resonates with a contemporary audience.

Educating Rita is a perceptive two-hander that charts the evolving relationship between northern, working-class hairdresser Rita and disillusioned, alcoholic English professor Frank. Having enrolled on an Open University course in search of something more, Rita arrives as an unknown quantity; Frank, in need of the extra income, reluctantly agrees to tutor her. Beneath the wit and humour, Russell’s play probes deeper questions about self-improvement and identity, asking whether the desire for change comes from within or is shaped by the expectations of the world around us.

What unfolds is a sharp exploration of gender, class, and education, as the pair’s unlikely partnership develops through a series of tutorials. Rita battles a class system that assumes her place is at home, raising a family rather than pursuing intellectual fulfilment. When she describes peering through a window into Frank’s house and feeling more of an outsider than ever, the image becomes a powerful metaphor for exclusion: she can see the world she wants to enter, yet remains on the outside looking in. It is a moment that prompts reflection on how far those invisible barriers have truly shifted in the forty years since the play was written.

Director Annie Kershaw captures Rita’s chaotic nature from the outset, and we hear Rita before we see her, as she literally bursts through the door of Frank’s study, setting the scene for a fast-paced first act. Kershaw makes excellent use of the space of the small stage, and the changes of pace keep the audience firmly on the journey with the two characters. For a play set in one room, with no set changes, this version of Educating Rita keeps the story moving for the majority of the play.

The set design by Cara Evans perfectly suits a 1980s university office: from the stains on the broken ceiling tiles to the books left gathering dust. The bookcase cleverly doubles as a drinks cabinet, and the detail in the books and accessories in the office transports the audience into their world. Particularly effective are the moments when the chair and stacks of books are disturbed and clouds of “dust” fill the stage - a clever theatrical touch that subtly reminds the audience just how long Frank’s life has remained stagnant in this space. On the intimate stage at Reading Rep Theatre, the design works beautifully, allowing fluid movement between the more formal exchanges at Frank’s desk and the looser, conversational scenes around the table. Evans also designs subtle changes in costume and accessories that allow this sense of time passing to transition smoothly, avoiding anything jarring for the audience.

Sound design by Holly Khan and lighting by Adam Jeffreys are among the production’s strongest elements. Together, they create a clear and elegant sense of time passing between Rita’s tutorials. One particularly striking moment sees Rita caught in a direct spotlight, standing bathed in light - a simple but genuinely beautiful piece of stagecraft that underscores her journey.

Madelyn Smedley is excellent as Rita. She delivers the dialogue with sincerity and humour, capturing Rita’s headstrong nature with real clarity. Her characterisation shows a clear and satisfying development across the play, charting Rita’s growing confidence and self-awareness. I found myself genuinely rooting for her and willing her to achieve the transformation she so desperately seeks. Smedley creates a Rita who is ambitious yet thoroughly likeable, and the final scene, as she trims Frank’s hair. gently reminds us that, despite how far she has come, she retains the warmth that first draws the audience to her.

Frank is a complicated character to warm to, and Julius D’Silva captures his conflicted personality well. He shifts convincingly between moments of warmth, at times almost paternal, and flashes of anger and resentment. Frank’s frequent drunkenness and occasional aggression balance with periods of genuine gentleness, where his real care for Rita quietly surfaces, and D’Silva handles this contrast with assurance and sensitivity. In contrast to Rita, Frank remains markedly static, with little real sense of personal evolution across the play. His often unsteady, alcohol-fuelled presence sits in clear opposition to Rita’s drive to grow and reinvent.

Madelyn Smedley and Julius D’Silva are a delight together on stage as Rita and Frank, showing real connection. With huge amounts of dialogue, they bounce off each other with great comic timing. However, the press night performance did not feel as polished as it might have been, and there were instances of lines being spoken over one another, which introduced a slight awkwardness and disrupted the rhythm of the dialogue.

Viewed today, the play itself feels somewhat dated, and Frank can be an uncomfortable figure to watch. In this production, his behaviour at times tips into the slightly sleazy, particularly given his position of authority. Additionally, the inclusion of jokes relating to sexual assault feels especially unnecessary. While some may argue these reflect the attitudes of an earlier era, that does not mean we cannot challenge and move on from potentially harmful content. There is a strong case that modern productions should reconsider or reshape such material rather than invite laughter around such sensitive subject matter.

Overall, this is a visually thoughtful and technically accomplished staging that prompts reflection and highlights themes that still resonate today. Despite the text occasionally sitting uneasily in a modern context, any play that tackles gender inequality and the class system remains well worth watching.

Educating Rita runs at Reading Rep until 21st March. Tickets from https://www.readingrep.com/whats-on/educating-rita/

Photos by Harry Elletson