Theatre
Royal, Glasgow
Four
Stars
Willy
Russell spawned a very charming monster when he wrote his Pygmalion for the Thatcher
age forty years ago. As it outsmarts its way into middle-age, Russell’s play
remains a wise and witty inspiration, as working class hairdresser Rita’s leap into
boozy Open University lecturer Frank’s book-lined study becomes a beacon of
hope.
In
Rita, after all, is the bright and brassy epitome of a generation of common
people with ideas beyond their station. Like the gobbiest of revolutionaries,
she manages to gatecrash a world of books and intellectual aspiration, where an
unhappy marriage and a job that bores her were previously the only future on offer.
In Max
Roberts’ revival of a production first seen at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick,
Jessica Johnson’s Rita is a vivacious human dynamo in search of enlightenment,
who reignites a fire in Frank enough for them to become accidental kindred
spirits. What follows is a bittersweet tale of intimate equals in a platonic
love story in which both parties open each other up to endless possibilities
beyond their lot.
Rita’s
gradual transformation is marked by Sam Newlands’ costumes, as she moves from
what looks like half-price rail of jumpers to the student uniform chic of
dungarees and head-scarf. Stephen Tompkinson’s Frank, meanwhile, remains
permanently corduroyed and terminally unironed.
Like
the best books Frank throws Rita’s way, however, wisdom and experience are
double-edged swords. Tompkinson’s performance in particular is laced with ennui
beyond Frank’s avuncular attitude towards Rita, whose own getting of wisdom
happens almost too fast in the loss of her common touch.
In this
sense, a sadness pervades beyond the surface humour as Rita learns to fly. Four
decades on since they first appeared, with everything that’s happened in the
world, one wonders what Rita and Frank did next. Wherever they ended up, the
great learning had already begun in earnest.
The Herald, February 25th 2020
Ends
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