Educating Rita reprised her radio and Menier Chocolate Factory performance as Rita, and Frank was played by renowned actor Tim Pigott-Smith. Like the Willy Russell season at the Menier Chocolate Factory, the production ran in repertory alongside "Shirley Valentine" starring Meera Syal. A UK tour played in 2012, starring Claire Sweeney and Matthew Kelly as Rita and Frank respectively. A 35th anniversary production was staged at Liverpool Playhouse from 6 February to 7 March 2015, starring Leanne Best as Rita and Con O'Neill as Frank, directed by Gemma Bodinetz. The same year the Chichester Festival staged a production with Lenny Henry and
Lewis Gilbert Lewis Gilbert Lewis Gilbert (6 March 1920 – 23 February 2018) was a British film director, producer and screenwriter, who directed more than 40 films during six decades; among them such varied titles as "Reach for the Sky" (1956), "Sink the Bismarck!" (1960), "Alfie" (1966), "Educating Rita" (1983) and "Shirley Valentine" (1989), as well as three James Bond films: "You Only Live Twice" (1967), "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977) and "Moonraker" (1979). Lewis Gilbert was born in Hackney, London, to a second-generation family of music hall performers, and spent his early years travelling with his parents, Ada (Griver), who