RITA, SUE AND BOB TOO
Derby Theatre are thrilled to play host to the Out of Joint, Octagon Theatre Bolton and the Royal Court Theatre stage production of Rita, Sue and Bob Too, the seminal 1982 play about two teenage friends who embark on an affair with a married man, on at the Theatre from Tuesday 21 until Saturday 25 November. "Do you think it would be better if you and me got ourselves steady boyfriends?"
Best friends Rita and Sue get a lift home from married Bob after babysitting his kids. When he takes the scenic route and offers them a bit of fun, the three start a fling that each of them think they control.
Andrea Dunbar wrote her semi-autobiographical play when she was just 19. It’s an explosive portrait of girls facing an unpromising future, offered a taste of adult adventure.
Celebrated for its wickedly funny dialogue and startling insight, Rita will be played by Taj Atwal, who was widely acclaimed for her performance in East is East at Trafalgar Studios in the West End, and who starred as Rita in Educating Rita for Hull Truck. She is also known from Stella on Sky, and Kay Mellors’ In The Club on BBC1. Atwal’s co-star from In The Club, Gemma Dobson, will make her professional stage debut as Sue.
Bob will be played by James Atherton, who played Will Savage in Hollyoaks for five years, as well as Jamie Bowman in Coronation Street. He has taken theatre roles at Manchester Royal Exchange, Chichester Festival Theatre and Theatre Royal, Haymarket.
Sally Bankes (Mother) has appeared in four productions for the RSC and worked with Taj Atwal in the West End production of East is East. She has extensive comedy and drama television credits. Samantha Robinson (Michelle) played Rita in Educating Rita at Colchester Mercury, and has performed for Northern Broadsides, West Yorkshire Playhouse, The Bush and Bristol Old Vic. Her many TV credits include Cilla. David Walker (Father) has appeared in Emmerdale, The Royal and Coronation Street, and on stage most recently in Hangmen in the West End.
In the play, best friends Rita and Sue get a lift home from married Bob after babysitting his kids. When he takes the scenic route and offers them a bit of fun, the three start a fling they each think they control.
Andrea Dunbar wrote her second, semi-autobiographical play for the Royal Court Theatre in 1982 when she was just 19. It’s a vivid portrait of girls caught between brutal childhood and an unpromising future, hungry for adult adventure. Told with wicked humour, startling insight and a great ear for dialogue, Rita Sue and Bob Too also became a much-loved cult film, which was restored and re-released this year by the BFI.
Age Guidance: 14+ (contains strong language, partial nudity, adult content and smoking)
Tickets: £15.50 - £26.50, concessions available. For more information and to book tickets call the Box Office on 01332 593939 or online at www.derbytheatre.co.uk