Similarly, “Educating Rita” ends with humorous stage directions as Rita says there is something she would like to give to Frank as a small token of gratitude for staying by her, understanding her and giving her an education. In the film, we become confused as to what may occur, as Rita's movement and tone of voice suggest a gift more of the sexual type. She says “ I never thought there was anythin’ I could give you. But there is. Come here, Frank…”.The stage directions which follow however “[Frank sits, and Rita, eventually finding a pair of scissors on the desk, waves them in the air]” show that in actual fact, Rita intends to give Frank a much needed haircut.This funny end however, in my opinion provides a greater impact than a serious one because although one of Russells main aims was to highlight serious issues through humour, the audience expect a comedy, and humorous finale maintains the light-hearted tone of the play which seemed to have wilted up until this point .The humour with which Russell chose to end the play with may help the conclusion to be regarded as a ‘happy’ one where Rita has her freedom with her education and Frank has gained freedom by leaving the university.
Russell further adds comedy to the play via his use of sexual innuendo. For example at the start of the play when Frank introduces the novel “Howard’s End” Rita calls it “filthy” the reason behind this being that in Rita's culture, the term “ end” is slang for penis. As well as providing humour for the audience this highlights the obvious difference in the cultures of Frank and Rita, possibly transforming it into a bigger issue, so that we understand Rita's pursuit of middle class culture and education more clearly. Rita’s “Do it on the Radio” essay further raises the issue In this way, providing humour through the use of her witty answer which, although a good answer, does not convey the deeper understanding of English literature which Frank normally finds in the essays of his “proper “ university students . The humour created therefore gives the audience a fairly accurate impression of the gap at the start of the play between academic expectations and the responses given by Rita, reminding us of the fact that she and Frank are also of two completely different classes.
The use of verbal comedy through the differing types of language has also enabled Russell to create comedy.For example at the beginning of act two, Rita changes her accent to try and sound more “educated” giving a contrast to her usual colloquial language we have become used to in Act One, “As Trish says there is not a lot of point in discussing beautiful literature in an ugly voice”. This shows just how desperate and impatient Rita is to become educated. It is effective in suggesting that perhaps Rita is ashamed of her background and culture when around more middle class people like Frank and her flatmate Trish and that gaining an education in literature is not enough for her,she wants more than that she wants to become a different person. Rita sees education as a destination, a way to escape her unfulfilled life, rather than a signpost in helping her to become a more well rounded person, where she is able to make choices for herself. Frank, however believes that she should stay true to who she is, and remain innocent which suggests that he at times regrets his middle class culture and education, as it has ensured he is not innocent like Rita.
Another way in which Russell raises serious points through comedy is by use of Rita's colloquial language, when compared to Frank's way of speaking.For example, “I’m coming in , aren’t I? It’s that stupid bleedin’ handle on the door. You wanna get it fixed!” is a simple but effective way to highlight the difference in class between the two characters. The discussion they have have on swearing in the early stages of the play is also effective as it shows how highly Rita considers the more educated, and suggests she feels lower than them. Humour is created in the way Rita mocks the idea of the middle class using more unsavoury elements of the english language “Pass me the fackin’ grouse” but it also highlights the way in which Rita values Frank’s freedom of speech because to him, swearing is “only words” because of his education.
Rita also uses references at the start of the play to in order to add that comical touch. One such example is when she refers to television “Far-rah Fawcett Majors”, “Flora Man”. This we find amusing because Frank is unable to understand the references Rita uses. On a more serious tone it brings up once more the fact that they are of two differing cultures. Also, the references Rita uses at the start of the play provide the audience with contrasts to the more educated references at the end, making her intellectual progression clear throughout the play. For example, when she refers to a Blake poem. This shows us how Rita’s character has developed in academic terms. Nowadays however, the humorous references used by Rita present a problem in the play, in that by many they may be considered as dated, therefore nulling the effect previous performances had on the audience nearer to the time the production was actually set.
Russell gives us an accurate representation of Rita’s character through comedy, but he presents Frank's personality in a slightly different manner, via his frequent use of sarcasm. An example of this is when they are discussing Julia, who according to Frank “spends a great deal of time putting her head in the oven”. This is effective in highlighting the distress and depression which Frank feels in his own personal life. The fact that Julia is an ex-student is also significant, as it means that she has at a stage been educated and education is the one thing Rita strives for, as she believes that an education will change her into a better person. Ironically, this suggests to the audience that although an education may change Rita’s culture and ideas in life it will not necessarily change her as a person, and therefore may not be as important as she believes.
Russell also uses humour to reflect Rita’s home situation.One example is her husband Denny, and the fact that he seems to be jealous of her education, and doesn't understand that she has little desire to do what is expected of women in her culture, which in this case is having a baby . Russell exaggerates here “even if I was havin’ an affair there’s no point burnin’ me books.I’m not havin’ it off with Anton Chekov” which helps to illustrate Rita's felling of frustration towards her own life not only because she feels that she is an uneducated, working class woman, going nowhere special but also because she does not want to conform to what is expected of her. For example, in her society she was brought up believing that “ music an’ clothes an’ lookin’ for a feller” were the main qualities of life however, she always had the notion that it was wrong.
Hyperbole is also used to show the audience the way in which Rita sees herself as someone who is entertaining but who cannot be taken seriously, for example when she says “I didn’t want to come to your house just to play the court jester.” This shows that she is angry at her witty personality and emphasises the extent to which she wants to change.Russell also uses antithesis to create humour for example when Rita describes Frank as a “geriatric hippie” . This is effectively highlights Rita’s light-hearted nature and her use of the word “hippie” emphasises the fact that Frank has no motivation to change his lifestyle, which may be caused by his depression and the fact he is an alcoholic.
In conclusion, Russell’s vision for ‘Educating Rita’ is definitely a humorous one, but he uses many different types of humour to effectively entertain the audience, but to also raise more serious issues at the same time. Russell's use of “serious” humour manges to raise key problems in every day life ,whilst giving the play a light hearted tone, so as to make it interesting for the audience. Indeed, I believe the humour is mostly there to raise more serious issues, and the fact that it appeals to the audience is an added bonus.
