Educating Rita

PLAYWRIGHT Willy Russell has the common touch, never more evident than in Educating Rita, now in the intimate Andrews Lane Studio. It is Shaw's Pygmalion souped up and tuned into the present, and, like its illustrious predecessor, a work of meat and meaning.

The film and its TV showings have made the story widely known. Rita, a young woman trapped in a meaningless marriage and a humdrum job, has a yen to improve her mind and gets into an Open University course. Her tutor, Frank, is prematurely middle aged, disillusioned and bibulous. She outgrows him, and he profits from it.

Familiarity with the film should not put anyone off this most entertaining production of a fine play. Luke Hayden is excellent as Frank, catching the nuances of a complex character, and the relatively new Sinead Murphy is something of an eye opener as the ebullient Rita, moving persuasively through the stages of her development.

William Morgan directs for the Pink Panda company, turning the venue's limitations to advantage in audience involvement. Thoughtful comedy is a heady wine, and this is one to savour.