Educating Rita Willy Russell

Pre-reading activities:

Using the website http://www.willyrussell.com, research the life of the author

Willy Russell and write down six key facts you find out about him.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Use a good dictionary to find out the definitions of the following words:

Bourgeois:

Marxist:

Working class:

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Educating Rita Willy Russell

First impressions:

Read pages 13 and 14 until ‘Come in!’ Write down your initial impressions of Frank.
The first one is done for you.

1. An alcoholic who drinks at work.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Read pages 13–16. Frank and Rita come from very different social classes. Frank is
upper middle class and Rita is working class. Write down examples of Rita’s
colloquial language:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Read pages 17–23. Rita’s and Frank’s different backgrounds are very apparent on
these pages and there are moments of confusion when they talk.

Complete the table on the following page.

In each case, try to identify the reason for the confusion and what we learn about
each character in this section.

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Educating Rita Willy Russell

Rita says: Frank says:

• ‘I read this poem about fightin’ • ‘Ah – Dylan Thomas’

death …’

• •

• •

• •

• •

Read pages 24–25. Imagine you are Rita. Write your application letter for the Open
University. Try to use the type of language Rita would have used.

You may wish to use the following structure –

Start with Dear Sir/Madam

Paragraph 1 – Explain why you are writing the letter.

Paragraph 2 – Outline why you are unhappy with your present life (five sentences).

Paragraph 3 – Explain what you hope to get from the course (five sentences).

End with Yours sincerely,

Read page 29. Think about how Rita struggles with the door at the beginning of the
play. Now she oils Frank’s door as she promised to. This is a metaphor.

Discuss with a partner why you think Russell has included this in his play and what
it represents. Write your thoughts in the space below.

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Educating Rita Willy Russell

Read page 31, focusing on the extract about Rita’s school life.

1) Work with a partner and write a school report for Rita. Use the headings below
to help you.

Subject Effort grade Exam result Teacher’s comment

Maths
English
Science
History
Religion
Art
Food Technology
PE

2) Work with a partner. One of you is Rita’s teacher and the other is her mother.
Write a script for a role play set at a parents’ evening to discuss the report you
wrote for Rita. Use the information on pages 31 and 32.

Read Frank’s advice to Rita about literary criticism on page 33, then use a good
dictionary to find out the definitions of the following words:

Subjective: Partisan:

Interpretation: Sentiment:

Read pages 32–38. Imagine you are Frank. Write a diary entry in which you reflect
on your feelings about Rita at this stage of your relationship with her. You may
wish to think about the following:

Paragraph 1 – The day you first met her and your first impressions of her.

Paragraph 2 – Her current standard of education.

Paragraph 3 – Your feelings about her current life and wishes for the future.

Paragraph 4 – What it is you like about her.

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Educating Rita Willy Russell

Read pages 44–49. In the space below write a short summary of Peer Gynt and
explain why Russell includes reference to it in the play.

Rita talks about working class life. Make a list of the negative things she says
working class life is about:

Write a character study of Rita at this stage of the play.

You may wish to think about the following structure:

Paragraph 1 – Explain who she is, her background and what she is doing.

Paragraph 2 – Outline what she wants to achieve by attending the O.U.

Paragraph 3 – Discuss her past education.

Paragraph 4 – Discuss the pressures placed upon her by her family and husband.

Paragraph 5 – Evaluate what aspects of her character you like most.

Remember to use quotations from the play to support your points.

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Educating Rita Willy Russell

Read pages 51–53. Here, Rita reveals her recent argument with Denny and how
she is drifting further away from him.
Work with a partner. Imagine you are Danny talking about the incident with a
friend in the pub. Write the script and perform the role play.

Read pages 65–68. This section is very important in terms of Rita’s transition from
working class, uneducated woman.
Make a list of the things Rita says go wrong with her trip to Frank’s dinner party:

•
•
•
•
•

How do we, the audience, respond to Frank and to Rita at this point in the play?

Now look at the quotations below and comment on what they show us about Rita:

1. ‘I don’t want to be funny … I wanna talk seriously with the rest of you … I don’t
want to come to your house just to play the court jester.’

2. ‘Because I’m a freak … I’m a half caste …’

3. ‘… I asked her why. I said. ‘Why are y’ cryin’, Mother?’ She said, ‘Because –
because we could sing better songs than those.’

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Educating Rita Willy Russell

Read pages 73–80. Make a list of the ways in which Rita has changed following her
trips to London and summer school.

•
•
•
•
•
Now read pages 83–85. How do we know Rita is moving away from Frank?

Read pages 88–90. Rita talks in a very sophisticated and intelligent way, which is
very different to the way she spoke at the beginning. List the things she says which
echo the advice Frank gave her earlier in the play. The first one has been done for
you.

• ‘You’re being subjective.’

•
•

On pages 93–95 it is clear that Rita has moved away from Frank.
Make a list of the facts that support this:

•
•
•
•

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Educating Rita Willy Russell

Read pages 96–98. Look at the quotations below and comment on what they show
us about Rita:

1. ‘… I shall change my name; from now on I shall insist upon being known as
Mary, Mary Shelley …’

2. ‘… this clever, pyrotechnical pile of self conscious allusion is worthless, talented

shit …’

3. ‘I’ve got what you have an’ y’ don’t like it because you’d rather see me as the
peasant I once was …’

Read page 101. Consider Willy Russell includes this in his play. What purpose does
it serve?

Read pages 102–105. What is the significance of Trish’s attempted suicide? What
does it tell Rita in particular?

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Educating Rita Willy Russell

Essay question:
To what extent do you agree with Rita that Frank is ‘a good teacher’?

You may wish to think about the following:

• The fact that Rita passes her exam with a good grade and how her language
changes from the colloquial talk at the start into something much more
sophisticated at the end.

• The obvious enjoyment that Rita gets from attending lessons with Frank
(at least at the beginning).

• What Rita has learned about life as opposed to the books she has read.

• Frank’s attitude towards his job at the beginning and his attitude towards
his students.

• Franks’ alcoholism and how this impacts on his teaching and ultimately
results in his being forced out.

Essay question:
To what extent do you agree that Educating Rita is a feminist play?

You may wish to think about:

• Rita’s life before she takes up her Open University course.

• What she has to say about some of the women in her neighbourhood and
their attitudes towards their lives such as her mother.

• Her relationship with Denny.

• What Rita gains by passing her course and how she changes.

• What she learns about middle class life through figures like Frank and Trish.

• What Rita has to say about the importance of ‘choice’.

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