News: Educating Rita starring Stephen Tompkinson and Jessica Johnson announces summer 2021 tour dates

Multi-award winning producer David Pugh announces his critically-acclaimed production of Willy Russell’s Educating Rita, starring Stephen Tompkinson and Jessica Johnson, is set to tour the UK this summer 2021.

Directed by Max Roberts, the show will open at the MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton from 20 July, with stops at Royal & Derngate, Northampton, Rose Theatre, Kingston, Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, York Theatre Royal, Horsham The Capitol and Newcastle Theatre Royal.

Educating Rita is the story of married hairdresser Rita, who enrols on an Open University course to expand her horizons and encounters university tutor Frank.

Frank is a frustrated poet, brilliant academic and dedicated drinker, who is less than enthusiastic about teaching Rita, however she manages to reignite his passion for literature. The two soon realise how much they have to learn from each other.

Originally commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the play was later made into a BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning film starring Julie Walters and Michael Caine.

Stephen Tompkinson’s credits include ITV’s Torvill & Dean, BBC’s The Split, five series of DCI Banks, four series of Trollied, and seven series of Wild at Heart. Theatre work includes Spamalot, Rattle of a Simple Man and Arsenic and Old Lace in the West End.

Jessica Johnson’s credits include Call Me Mary Poppins, Goth Weekend, Kings and Queens, Each Piece and Anti-Gravity at the Live Theatre, Newcastle.

The production features set and costume design by Patrick Connellan, lighting design by Drummond Orr and sound design by David Flynn.

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