rriving at the Minack theatre, I am more than thrilled to be back at a live performance, but less than sure that this particular play will work here. They will be immediately recommended to interested users. The Educating Rita UK Tour 2020 will re-open more theatres. As Rita grapples with the trials of education, Frank learns to believe in himself again. PRIVACY | He is in the process of developing a musical based on his original story concept. He has authored several books on publicity and marketing for amateur theatre groups. The two soon realise how much they have to learn from each other. Making no pretence at a fourth wall, the performers share everything directly with the happily involved spectators, only concealing, until the final scene, the secret of the uncanny resemblances between the twin-pair actors. The Educating Rita UK Tour will have set and costume designs by Patrick Connellan, lighting design by Drummond Orr and sound design by David Flynn. An eight-strong cast brings a boisterous energy to the series of increasingly frenetic situations of mistaken identity set off by the arrival in Ephesus of Antipholus and his servant, Dromio. She has always embraced change and so now, with social distancing – if you’ve got a closed theatre, she’ll reopen it – we are delighted we’re reopening the historic Rose Theatre, Kingston.”. CONTACT | PRESS/MEDIA | Tompkinson uses the wind’s buffetings to intensify our impression that Frank is flailing desperately to take control of his job, his love life and his drinking; that, as a poet, he is trapped under the weight of his own defeated expectations. Rita blows in, makes to take off her coat: a gust almost rips it from her back. Our fingers are crossed that the sun shines on us for the remainder of the summer.”. Performances began on Tuesday 18 August and the season will run until Saturday 29 August. Rita has a passion for literature and is intent upon self-improvement. THE EDITORIAL TEAM | Taking a tight grip on her coat, Johnson guides it along the air current and loops it firmly on to a hook, her gesture emphasising Rita’s determination not to be dictated to by circumstances, to take charge of her life. THE EDITORIAL TEAM | The two soon realise how much they have to learn from each other. Since this time, Educating Rita has never been out of production somewhere in the world. Julie Walters reprised her role in the BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning film opposite Michael Caine. The production was on a UK Tour when the Government closed theatres but is now able to open at this beautiful outdoor theatre with social distancing. The contrast between this site and the fiction is as great as… well, as the contrast between the erudite, irascible Frank and his new, eager mature student, Rita, a hairdresser with no qualifications enthusiastically embarking on an Open University course. However, Frank soon finds that his passion for literature is reignited by Rita, whose technical ability for the subject is limited by her lack of education, but whose enthusiasm Frank finds refreshing. Although Educating Rita comes to the end of its run at the Minack today, producer David Pugh is aiming to take the production on a 40th anniversary tour. Written by one of our greatest ever playwrights Willy Russell and starring one of our best loved actors Stephen Tompkinson as Frank and introducing Jessica Johnson as Rita. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Sun 30 Aug 2020 05.30 EDT. David Pugh said: “Rita herself is a class act. I do worry about the rain but when I mentioned this to Willy Russell, he said ‘Don’t worry, I’ll just add a line. For updates, check here. Stephen Tompkinson and Jessica Johnson respond deftly to such unpredictabilities, cleverly adapting them to their characterisations. ON SALE SOON. by Willy Russell 7 Sept – 17 Oct 2020 . JOIN THE TEAM | This is, after all, a most appropriate setting. Educating Rita is a stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell.It is a play for two actors set entirely in the office of an Open University tutor.. The Educating Rita UK Tour 2020 will re-open more theatres. Rita can say: There’s a leak in your ceiling, Frank.’, Zoe Curnow added, “We are delighted to be able to reawaken the Minack from its lockdown sleep and put the soul back into our theatre with live performances. Chester’s Grosvenor Park theatre, which opened in 2010, is the dreamchild of Andrew Bentley and Alex Clifton and forerunner of the more permanent Storyhouse arts centre. Play: Educating Rita is the unforgettable story of the relationship between a feisty Liverpudlian hairdresser and a jaded university professor. Following the success of the run in August at the Minack Open Air Theatre in Cornwall, Olivier and Tony Award-winning producer David Pugh has announced that the acclaimed 40th anniversary production of Willy Russell’s Educating Rita is coming back from 28 October 2020.. This open-air amphitheatre clings to a Cornish cliffside, a wide, blue horizon stretches beyond its wind-scoured stage. TICKETING PARTNERS | OUR RATING SYSTEM. Educating Rita is set in a northern, redbrick university – specifically, in the stuffy office of an English lecturer-cum-erstwhile minor poet. Stay updated on Educating Rita and find even more events in newcastle upon tyne. The tour will return from Wednesday 28 October. EDUCATING RITA 2020 Tour Recommences in October. He has authored several books on publicity and marketing for amateur theatre groups. CONTACT | ABOUT | Frank's disillusionment with live has driven him to the bottle. An unexpected error occurred. Synopsis. Isn’t Willy Russell’s 1980 hit comedy better suited to a venue such as Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake, where this production opened last year, under Max Roberts’s direction? The idea of playing Educating Rita at the Minack Theatre is not only exciting but also a step towards re-opening all of our theatres. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Rita has a passion for literature and is intent upon self-improvement. BOOK TICKETS, 17 – 21 November 2020 Educating Rita is a witty yet poignant look at a working class woman’s attempts to change her social circumstances through pursuit of an Open University qualification. However, Frank soon finds that his passion for literature is reignited by Rita, whose technical ability for the subject is limited by her lack of education, but whose enthusiasm Frank finds refreshing. The tour will reopen at the Rose Theatre, Kingston, running from 28 October to 14 November. Stephen Tompkinson and Jessica Johnson said of playing the Minack Theatre, “On March 16, we thought that was it, that we were never to perform in our favourite play ever again. Commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Educating Rita premièred at The Warehouse, London, in June 1980 starring Julie Walters and Mark Kingston.The play was directed by Mike Ockrent PRESS/MEDIA | And Clifton’s pared-down production of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors is shaped for an audience long deprived of conviviality by lockdown, a crowd-pleaser in the best sense of the term (miraculously, rehearsed over just four days). David Pugh explained his decision to stage the production outdoors for two weeks: “I am a producer, so I should produce. You can Update Your Preferences or Unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of any email we send you. The official website for Educating Rita the Musical UK tour in 2020. by BWW News Desk. ABOUT | Frantically fluttering papers threaten to fly from his desk; he grabs at glass weights to hold them down. Stephen Tompkinson stars in the 40th-anniversary production of Willy Russell’s Educating Rita. Shrewsbury Theatre, Severn News: Educating Rita 2020 tour recommences. The production stars Stephen Tompkinson as Frank and Jessica Johnson as Rita and is directed by Max Roberts. Star ratings (out of five)Educating Rita ★★★★The Comedy of Errors ★★★★. TICKETING PARTNERS | OUR RATING SYSTEM. The play was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and played at the Warehouse Theatre, London in 1980, starring Julie Walters and Mark Kingston. Room with a view… Stephen Tompkinson and Jessica Johnson in Educating Rita at the Minack theatre. 28 October – 14 November 2020 Check out other events in newcastle upon tyne. Douglas Mayo has had a life long love affair with musical theatre. 7 Sept – 17 Oct 2020 Performances daily at 7.30pm, ex. Douglas Mayo has had a life long love affair with musical theatre. Having sadly had to postpone our previously scheduled 2020 season, we are delighted to be forging new friendships with producers like David and are really excited to welcome Willy Russell and Stephen and Jessica to our beautiful theatre. Educating Rota tells the story of married hairdresser Rita, who enrols on an Open University course to expand her horizons and her encounters with university tutor Frank. Sundays Ticket sales from 10 August 2020. The dreams of all three were realised because they connect with our aeons-old shared longing for the particular experience that is live performance – a magic merging of people, place and presentation. 9 listings plus production details. Great fun. EDUCATING RITA. ADVERTISE | Frank is a frustrated poet, brilliant academic and dedicated drinker, who is less than enthusiastic about teaching Rita. Educating Rita 2020 Tour Recommences September 17, 2020 Last updated: September 17, 2020 2:15 pm By Admin Jessica Johnson as Rita & Stephen Tompkinson as Frank in EDUCATING RITA. Frank is a frustrated poet, brilliant academic and dedicated drinker, who is less than enthusiastic about teaching Rita. A rriving at the Minack theatre, I am more than thrilled to be back at a live performance, but less than sure that this particular play will work here. Minack theatre, Porthcurno, Cornwall; Grosvenor Park Open Air theatre, ChesterAn unflappable duo braved the elements in Willy Russell’s comedy drama, while Shakespeare’s crowd-pleaser cheered a lockdown-weary audience. Starring Stephen Tompkinson as Frank, and introducing Jessica Johnson as Rita, the play will be directed by Max Roberts. 75 min 20 min 45 min approx. Act 1: Interval: Act 2: Play Ends . Before us, two people are making choices that limit or expand their horizons. The Minack was built on the 1930s dream of Rowena Cade. Now, we are beyond excited to be doing Educating Rita one more time at the Minack, the stunning open-air theatre in Cornwall.”. David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers and Theatre by the Lake are delighted to announce that the major new stage production of Willy Russell’s Educating Rita which has just played a successful season at the Minack Theatre will re-commence touring (with social distancing) from 28 October 2020 re-opening even more theatres starting with the Rose Theatre, Kingston. Join our Mailing List to get touring news sent to you directly. Originally commissioned by the RSC, the show won the 1980 Society of West End Theatres award for Best Comedy and Best Play. PRIVACY | Create events for free. ADVERTISE | JOIN THE TEAM | Please try again. Educating Rita tells the story of married hairdresser Rita, who enrols on an Open University course to expand her horizons and her encounters with university tutor Frank. Unknown to them – or to anyone else – the city is home to each of their long-lost, identical siblings, also master and servant and also called Antipholus and Dromio. Play: Educating Rita is the unforgettable story of the relationship between a feisty Liverpudlian hairdresser and a jaded university professor. He is in the process of developing a musical based on his original story concept. Julie Walters reprised her role in the BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning film opposite Michael Caine.