The Court Theatre Presents EDUCATING RITA This Autumn

By: Louisa Brady May. 08, 2016

From the writer of Blood Brothers (Willy Russell) comes his most acclaimed play, Educating Rita, an hilarious and moving story of a woman determined to better herself.

Thinking that there is more to life than working in a hair salon, street-smart Rita, fizzing with ambition, sets out to find herself through higher education. Booksmart Frank, a failed poet with a failed marriage, has grown disillusioned with higher education and has just about given up. He agrees to tutor Rita to pay for his drinking habit, totally unaware his world is about to be turned upside down.

The unlikely pair form a life-changing bond as Frank enlivens Rita's soul through Shakespeare and Chekhov, while Rita reawakens Frank with a breath of fresh air in this heart-warming comic masterpiece.

"I wanted to make a play which engaged and was relevant to those who considered themselves uneducated, those whose daily language is not the language of the university or the theatre," said playwright Willy Russell.

Russell wrote Educating Rita at the end of 1979. He had been commissioned by The Royal Shakespeare Company to write something for a season of experimental work but the play very nearly didn't happen. With his deadline looming and nothing on paper, Russell had asked the RSC to take their advance back but they would not agree. Thankfully, not long after "Rita just walked on to the page", said Russell.

Those who know Willy Russell's career path may spot some parallels with that of his character Rita. Both started out their working lives as hairdressers and both took up higher education at a later age, becoming the oldest student in their class. Although he wasn't consciously aware of it at the time, a disdain for research meant Russell mined his own experiences for the necessary background material in the play.

In addition to Educating Rita and Blood Brothers, Russell's best known plays are Shirley Valentine and Our Day Out.

Julie Walters, who played Rita 36 years ago on stage and later in the film version, still has women tell her that they left their husbands, inspired by Rita's personal growth and independence in the show. It has even coined a condition known as the 'Educating Rita Syndrome'. A 2010 study by the UK National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education concluded that married women who go back to school to continue their education often face marriage breakdowns.

The Court's production of Educating Rita features Kathleen Burns in the title role alongside one of New Zealand's most respected actors, George Henare.

Henare has amassed many acting credits during his 50 year career including: Once Were Warriors, Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Street Legal, Death of a Salesman (for which he received a Chapman Tripp Award), and tours of Jesus Christ Superstar, Phantom of the Opera and HMS Pinafore. He has received a Laureate Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, and is a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the theatre.

Educating Rita will be Henare's first show in the new theatre at The Court. It will also be his last show in New Zealand before he moves to Sydney to perform in the Broadway hit musical Aladdin.

Kathleen Burns is a regular on The Court main stage and has been a Court Jester for 13 years. She played Linda in The Court's 2014 sell out production of Blood Brothers.

Educating Rita is directed by Yvonne Martin who is very familiar with Russell's work having previously played Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers and the title role in Shirley Valentine.

Martin says she will honour the central premise of the play but is not planning on making the show a political statement on women's rights. "Things have moved on since Russell wrote Educating Rita in the late '70s," says Martin. "But education still brings choice, not just for women like Rita but for all of us."

Educating Rita will play at The Court Theatre from 28th May through to 25th June 2016.

Cast:

· Kathleen Burns: Rita

· George Henare: Frank

Production Team:

· Yvonne Martin: Director

· Harold Moot: Set Designer

· Pam Jones: Costume Designer

· Sean Hawkins: Lighting Designer

· Giles Tanner: Sound Designer & Operator

· Christy Lassen: Properties Co-ordinator

· Ashlyn Smith: Stage Manager