Educating Rita

Educating Rita

1983

A working-class Liverpool woman enrols in an Open University literature course, forming an unlikely bond with her witty but disillusioned tutor as she seeks education and a new sense of self. The film is a warm and witty adaptation of Willy Russell's stage play, exploring class, ambition, and personal transformation.

Director

  • Lewis Gilbert

Cast

  • Michael Caine
  • Julie Walters
  • Michael Williams
  • Maureen Lipman

Filming Locations

  • Dublin Airport

    The end title sequence was filmed here.

  • Leeson Street
  • Liverpool

    Although the film is set in Liverpool, no scenes were actually filmed there; the Liverpool setting is represented throughout by locations in Dublin, with train carriages repainted in British Rail colours to maintain the illusion.

  • Merrion Square
  • Pearse Street Train Station

    This sequence includes an Irish Railways (Comhras Iompair Eireann - CIE) train painted up in 1980s British Rail colours.

  • Ringsend

    The scene in which Rita encounters her ex-husband Denny and his new wife was filmed in the South Lotts area of Ringsend.

  • Trinity College

    Trinity College Dublin stood in for the fictional Liverpool university, with Frank Bryant's (Michael Caine) office and tutorial room filmed in the rooms of the College Historical Society and the University Philosophical Society.