Archive: This review was first published on March 6, 2013 by the Daily Post
When Rita enrols on an Open University English literature course, she tells her tutor that she wants to "know everything".
Rita is a sweet 26-year-old married woman from a working class background who rues the fact she had no proper education, which she admits is mainly her own fault. Peer pressure dictated that clothes and boys were cooler than trying to pass exams.
A decade after leaving school Rita realises there is more to life than telly, karaoke and having the latest phone. She wants to know about poetry and literature, to be able to talk about it with other people and understand what they say back to her.
It is this rampant aspiration in Rita that brings her into contact with alcoholic tutor Frank, who is at first staunchly against being forced into teaching her. He has low self esteem and very little get up and go; he is a remnant of a once great man whose sights are now firmly set on the gutter, no longer the stars.
But it is Rita's effervescent enthusiasm, her thirst for knowledge and her desperation to better herself and escape the drudgery she endures with husband Denny that reinvigorates Frank, at least to some extent.
Katie Elin-Salt is radiant as Rita. She lights up the stage like a sunbeam pearcing the gloom of a hermit's cave, a bubbly, smiley bundle of fun and laughter who nobody could fail to love. Katie manages to make you fall in love with Rita almost instantly. Her body language, ever-present smile and cute South Walian accent gives Rita immediate presence, portraying her as the potential cure to Frank's damaged soul.
Richard Elfyn is just as effective as careworn Frank. His shabby dress, his unkempt hair and chaotic surroundings - complete with methodically secreted bottles of whisky - reflect a lost talent, a man drowning in his past but still managing to demonstrate flashes of brilliance. Frank has not lost his talent or knowledge, but it is too often shrouded by self-pity, depression and booze.
It's a delight to witness Rita inveigling her way into Frank's heart. Elfyn's lingering looks at Elin-Salt as Rita speaks freely of her dream of a better, educated life are masterfully placed. To watch Elfyn while Elin-Salt speaks is a revelation for anybody looking to learn about subtlety in acting, and this goes vice versa too. Katie lights up the stage all the time anyway, whether she's speaking or not, but it's the little facial expressions and looks she gives during quieter moments (such as the Peer Gynt essay writing scene) that speak volumes unsaid.
I'd never seen the film of Educating Rita starring Julie Walters and Michael Caine, so came to this refreshingly new, which is why I won't spoil it for anybody in the same boat. But within five minutes of spending time with these two characters I guarantee you will care, probably passionately, about what happens to each, and will be affected by the story when you walk out at the end.
This play is life-affirming and inspiring, funny and tragic by turns and is a true highlight of the region's cultural season, not to be missed.
The stats
Writer: Willy Russell
Director: Emma Lucia
Cast: Richard Elfyn (Frank); Katie Elin-Salt (Rita)
Performed at Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, February 28 to April 6 2013. Performance reviewed: March 5, 2013.
Links
Educating Rita on Clwyd Theatr Cymru website (retrieved Jan 14 2015)
Educating Rita on Willy Russell's website (retrieved Jan 14 2015)
Willy Russell on why Educating Rita is still popular - dated Nov 26 2014 (retrieved Jan 14 2015)
BBC Bitesize page on Educating Rita (retrieved Jan 14 2015)
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