Rita didn’t do school, because that would have made her different from her mates, and that’s not allowed. But in the back of her mind there has always been the idea that she might have got that wrong, and now she comes to the Open University to see if there is a better way. However, her tutor, Frank, has lost all enthusiasm for education, and doesn’t want to teach her. Their journey together eventually changes them both.

The classic tale of a young woman’s search to find herself through education, this 1981 Willy Russell play is funny, poignant and though-provoking, and has as much relevance today as it did then.