How does Rita's character change and her relationship with Frank alter during the course of the play? Willy Russell's 'Educating Rita'.

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How does Rita's character change and her relationship with Frank alter during the course of the play?

Willy Russell's 'Educating Rita' is set in 1985 and tells the story of Rita; a young hairdresser who feels that life is passing her by and offering her no choices. She decides to enrol in an Open University literature course and with the help of her tutor Frank, we see her successes and failures as she tries to give herself that "choice" that she wants so much. Rita and Frank are the only two characters we meet in the play, although other are mentioned such as Rita's husband Denny, Julia, Frank's partner and Rita's flatmate Trish. The only setting for the play is Frank's book-lined study in a Northern University. It is here that all the action takes place, although other important events occur offstage such as Rita's trip to summer school.

Rita is a working class, 26-year-old hairdresser. The decision to enrol in the Open University course was a difficult decision for her to make as it meant breaking away from the social restrictions placed on her by her husband Denny and the community in which she lived and