David Birrell and Jessica Baglow are to appear in the Derby Theatre and Octagon Theatre Bolton co-production of Willy Russell’s Educating Rita.
Birrell is middle-aged English literature university lecturer Frank. Birrell played Badger in Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows at the Theatre Royal Plymouth and on tour in 2016.
He won Manchester Theatre Awards for his roles as Peter Stockmann in Arthur Miller’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People in 2015 and Osborne in R C Sherriff’s Journey’s End in 2014, both for Octagon Theatre. His other credits include The Death of King Arthur by Simon Armitage at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2015.
Jessica Baglow plays Rita. She received an Ian Charleson Award commendation for her performance as Marina in Pericles at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2015 and was presented with a Manchester Theatre Award for her role as assistant stage manager Poppy Norton-Taylor in Noises Off at the Octagon Theatre, also in 2015.
She played Emilia in The Winter’s Tale at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2016 and Violet Fitton in The Family Way (All In Good Time) by Bill Naughton at the Octagon in 2015.
Elizabeth Newman will direct. She said, “Educating Rita is an important story that needs to be told now. Willy Russell’s uplifting masterpiece champions the idea that, as people, we can find freedom through education and therefore gain choice in life.
“It feels vital in 2016/17 that we share these ideas and celebrate curiosity with our audiences. This is a play that I feel very passionately about and it’s a huge privilege to be able to bring it to life in Bolton and Derby.”
Educating Rita runs at the Octagon Theatre from Thursday 19 January until Saturday 11 February. It then transfers to Derby Theatre from Friday 17 February until Saturday 11 March.
Meanwhile, Derby Theatre has announced its next festive production will be Peter Pan. It will run from Friday 1 December until Saturday 6 January 2018.