Willy Russell's Educating Rita

Willy Russell's Educating Rita

The play follows the attempts of Rita, a hairdresser to escape from

her mundane existence and enter an academic, middle class one. Willy

Russell's early life had much in common with Rita's. A working class

family, from Liverpool, a failed secondary school career, a lady's

hairdresser and then an interest in English literature. Russell wanted

to contrast the working class values of Rita with the middle class

academic ones. He used a number of ideas to make his audience aware of

'class values'.

The first thing that strikes the audience about Rita is her coarse and

vulgar language. '…look at those tits!' This is a typical example of

Rita's language in the first scene. Frank is very taken back by Rita

and the way she talks. This shows that Frank is surprised that Rita

uses this language. Willy Russell makes Rita use this language as a

way of contrasting the two characters and their backgrounds.

Frank and Rita's conversations in the scene quickly changed subjects.

Rita mentioned a poem about death and Frank assumed she was talking

about Dylan Thomas. She was in fact talking about a Liverpudlian

writer named Roger McGough. Frank had to admit 'I don't think I know

the actual piece you mean…' Willy Russell is again making it obvious

to the audience that Rita is from a lower class than Frank. She is not

familiar with literary figures showing her lack of education. It is

also telling the audience that Frank is ignorant towards certain

writers.

Willy Russell also uses humour to get the point of Frank and Rita's

differences across in scene one e.g. when Frank asks Rita 'Do you know

Yeats?' Rita replies 'The wine lodge?' This would make the audience

pity Rita through her embarrassing and humorous mistake. Willy Russell

uses this to convey their differences in culture or way of living.

Frank is talking about an Irish poet, while Rita confuses him with a

chain of wine bars.

In scene two Rita discussed with Frank her childhood thoughts of