If I were to stage a performance of this play I would use some props and changes of costume to reflect changes in the characters. In this scene Frank would be dressed quite smartly but not overly. He would ware a shirt and tie but have a rather un-kept appearance for example his hair should be long and straggly to imply to the audience that, yes he is at work but he is not that happy in what he is doing. Rita would be dressed in flamboyant colourful clothes to reflect her carefree and bubbly personality. The lighting at the beginning, when frank is on the phone would be quite dim, as Frank is complaining. When Rita enters the room the lights should instantly become brighter because Rita is “like a breath of fresh air”. The painting of the nude should be placed in a prominent well-lit place so the audience’s attention is drawn to it. As it is a classroom there should be shelves with books on, but the books should look untidy and un-kept rather like Frank. Bottles of alcohol should be hidden here also, maybe just visible over the top of books to show Frank’s drinking problem.
Throughout the first act the relationship between Frank and Rita becomes closer. Rita continues to go to her weekly sessions with Frank and they talk to each other about allsorts, least of all the poets they are studying. Frank tells Rita of his marriage problems, “I haven’t seen her for a long time. We split up.” They then go on to discuss the ins and outs of why and when. Rita apologises for being so nosy but Frank does not seem to mind as he answers Rita’s questions and the meetings between them become like a cosy chat. Rita’s relationship with her partner Denny is also a regular topic of discussion at her course. Because Frank and Rita are only two characters in the play Russell has to involve conversations like this between Frank and Rita so the audience understands the changes in the characters lives. Frank seems to be attracted to Rita in more of a sexual way other than a friendly way at times, “there’s a thousand things I’d rather do than teach; most of them with you young lady…” But this does not progress any further than simple flirting. The relationship between the two of them is great until Rita goes to summer school. After she returns relationship matters go on a downward spiral.
Act two scene three shows such changes. Frank is drunk and seems to be losing faith in his self. Rita has returned from summer school and we have seen a dramatic change in her, she has become more independent. Frank has noticed that Rita is no longer dependant on him and has taken to drinking excessive amounts of alcohol while working. He is scared of losing Rita. Rita has nearly achived what she was aiming for, she is now “educated”. When she asks a drunken Frank about her essay and what mark it would get Frank replies “a good one”. But Frank does not like the “new” Rita. He sees students’ everyday and enjoyed Rita because she was different from them. He does not like what he has created. Russell shows how the characters have changed in the way they talk Frank has lost faith in everything, his work and his-self he is now very disbelieving and has become an unreliable lecturer, “Its not-not wrong. But I don’t like it”. Frank has obviously gone downhill from act one scene one. By showing Frank as being drunk Russell is adding humour into what should be a very serious situation. “Pissed? I was glorious! Fell off the rostrum twice.” He uses Rita to bring the seriousness back into the situation. “Well its hardly fair on them if their lecturer is so pissed he’s falling off the rostrum.” There has been a role reversal between the two Rita is now being the one looked up to. Rita was the one who was always dependant on Frank. Frank was always looked up to because he was the educated one. Rita is now losing a lot of respect for Frank. “Look Frank, I don’t have to go along one hundred percent with your views on Blake y’ know.” She has learnt to think for herself and does not need Frank to mother her so much now and tell her all the answers.
There are a few changes to costume that I would apply if I were staging this scene. The now educated Rita would be wearing new clothes, those of a middle class person, to show a simple change in her from being working class to now being of a middle class standard. Frank would be wearing the same clothes but he would of lost his tie, he would look untidy. His hair would be worse than in the beginning and a look of neglect would be worn on his face with the growth of facial hair. Empty bottles would be placed around the room and the bookshelves where they were once kept would be empty of them. The books that once hid them would be strewn across the floor, to give the audience the impression that Frank had been very eager to get at them. I would light the stage with a dim light because as this may be a humorous scene there is an underlying sadness to it. Frank and Rita would be picked out by spotlights as I would like the audience to focus on what they are saying because the changes in the characters are shown through what they are saying in this scene more than their surroundings.
In conclusion, Willy Russell uses the characters Rita and Frank to explore the complex issues of social standing in society, education and relationships. He does this in a variety of ways including what the characters say and how they say it. As the play develops and time passes we see different changes, for example, Rita’s speech develops and becomes more like that of an educated person, her sentences become longer and more complex. By the end of the play our sympathies lie with each character for different reasons. Rita still feels that an education is all that is needed to improve herself and she is proud that she has done so in the end. But we understand why Frank is so reluctant for Rita to change. The way that Russell has not said in his play that either character shows that the themes and issues he has used with is characters are not clear-cut and there is no obvious way to solve all the problems.
