The Willy Russell play Educating Rita obviously came to the public’s attention with the movie staring Michael Caine and Julie Walters, and probably because of this exposure is still very popular today as the almost capacity audience will testify to. This production by R F Theatre Company was a reminder as to how good a play it is, as long as the two main characters of Frank, Oliver Gately and Rita, Helena Osbourne are strong enough for their roles. This was certainly the case with this production, and the magic of Russell’s pen was exploited to the full. All positive so far, but, given the poor sight lines in the venue there was too much ‘low level action’ that was missed by all except the front two rows and I’ m sorry, although Frank sounded right, he was barely older than an undergraduate himself, so a lot of his world weariness did not ring true. However, this aside, it is an excellent production and one well worth checking out, just be sure to arrive early, and sit in the front row so not to miss any of the action. ****