‘EDUCATING RITA’, 1983 – SCRIPT, PRODUCTION PAPERWORK AND RELATED MATERIAL (QTY)

A large collection of production material including various paperwork, correspondence and related material including:

- A pink folder inscribed on the cover in an unidentified hand ROUGH DRAFT – “EDUCATING RITA” SCREENPLAY / LEWIS, containing a typescript note to Gilbert from Willy Russell, unsigned, dated in Russell’s hand SAT: May 9^th, 1981…Here is the script….Love Willy….P.S. Helen, my typist – loves it., 1p, the first page of the enclosed draft an original typescript title page EDUCATING RITA / (Screenplay 1^st Draft) /  By Willy Russell / Director: Lewis Gilbert, the remainder of the 75 pp of the draft are mimeograph copies of the original, comprising the first act of the play, the pages numbered by hand 1 to 75; 

- A script, 117 pp of mimeograph typescript bound in red card folders, undated and unannotated;

- A large folder of production related paperwork, 1981 – 1991, including copies of legal agreements and various correspondence including: a photocopy of a Literary Property Agreement, from Willy Russell, dated 3 February 1981, unsigned, assigning the film rights to Lewis Gilbert; a photocopy of a Columbia Pictures contract with Lewis Gilbert to make the film, 3 February 1981; a ‘Consulting Services Agreement’, 1 December 1983, with Columbia Pictures Television for Gilbert to work on a potential television series of Educating Rita; numerous financial statements, copies of other contracts, and related material;

- A large bundle of press clippings and publicity material;

- A folder of premiere related material including programmes for the Royal World Charity Premiere, Leicester Square, 3 May 1983; two tickets for the ‘BAFTA Awards Presentation And Dinner’, 25 March 1984, Grosvenor House and a corresponding ‘Nominee’ ticket in the name of Lewis Gilbert, and related material;

-11 black and white publicity stills comprising four of Michael Caine as Frank, four of Julie Walters as Rita and three of Caine and Walters together in character, all 19 x 24.6 cm., in a brown manilla envelope addressed to Hylda Gilbert and labelled in her hand STILLS EDUCATING RITA;

- A folder of letters from acting hopefuls and technicians seeking work; and

- A large brown manilla envelope labelled in Hylda’s hand Educating Rita / Congratulations on winning Award for ‘Rita’ April 1984, containing a large quantity of congratulatory correspondence   (a lot)

Willy Russell’s play Educating Rita was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and opened at The Warehouse in London in June 1980, moving to The Piccadilly Theatre in September of that year, before opening at the Liverpool Playhouse in February 1981 – Russell directed this production himself, the first time he had directed a play.  The RSC production ran in the West End for two and half years, since when it has never been out of production somewhere in the world.  Russell said of his work “I wanted to make a play which engaged and was relevant to those who considered themselves uneducated, those whose daily language is not the language of the university or the theatre. I wanted to write a play which would attract, and be as valid for, the Ritas in the audience as the Franks."

 On the strength of the rave reviews, Hylda Gilbert went to see the play whilst it was at the Warehouse, and on her urging, Lewis went to see it shortly afterwards when it opened at the Piccadilly Theatre.  Julie Walters starred as Rita in this original production opposite Mark Kingston as Frank.  In his autobiography, Gilbert recalls …..but up on that stage it was Julie’s show.  I thought it was wonderful and knew I had to get in touch with the author right away.

PLEASE NOTE: The following is WITHDRAWN from this lot, 'with original brown manilla A4 envelope addressed to Lewis Gilbert, sent from Manchester Polytechnic, dated 13 April 1981'.

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Literature: GILBERT, Lewis All My Flashbacks The Autobiography of Lewis Gilbert, Sixty Years A Film Director, Reynolds & Hearn, London, 2010

Bellmans is grateful to Wallace and Hodgson for their assistance with cataloguing the Lewis Gilbert Film Script and Production Archive.