History repeats itself at The Crescent Theatre in Birmingham this month. The star of the last production of Willy Russell’s play, Educating Rita, directs the newest actor to take on this iconic character.
The Crescent Theatre presents Educating Rita from the 24th Feb to the 2nd March, in what is shaping up to be a fantastic run. Local Birmingham teacher, Fi Cotton, played the part of Rita, made famous in the hit film by Julie Walters, at The Crescent Theatre in 2002. She is now directing The Crescent’s newest Rita, Vicky Youster, another teacher, in the same role.
Educating Rita is a classic of British theatre. A married hair stylist in her 20s, Rita is hungry for more than her humdrum routine. She enrols on a literature course offered by the Open University, and is assigned to Frank, a cynical middle-aged professor, as her tutor. Despite his personal problems, Frank helps Rita to realise her academic potential.
However, when Rita’s blue-collar spouse learns that his wife is more interested in education than homemaking, he becomes frustrated by her newfound independence. Will Rita’s new lease of life be threatened?
Rita and Me: Actor Vicky Youster sees a lot of herself in Rita, “I relate to Rita in many aspects, I was interested in playing the role of a woman who has nothing but wants everything.” And she is enjoying being directed by Fi: “She is fantastic! She is so passionate about the project, has such good insight and really pushes me to think about all the little details in the script.”
What is it like for Fi to revisit the role, this time as a director? “I love Vicky’s energy and honesty. She is such a talent, with natural comic timing. Seeing her play the role I played myself makes me wish I could go back to 2002 and play it better, with all the things I have learned from Vicky’s performance.”
Fi and Vicky both feel Willy Russell’s 1980 play still has a lot to say in 2024. As Fi says, Educating Rita, “addresses themes that are important to me as a working-class woman, an educationalist and a mother of daughters.”
This charming, funny, poignant tale of a working class woman’s hunger for life and literature opens on the 24th February and runs until the 2nd March.
