James Atherton, Taj Atwal, Sally Bankes, and More to Star in RITA, SUE, AND BOB TOO

James Atherton, Taj Atwal, Sally Bankes, Gemma Dobson, Samantha Robinson and David Walker have been cast in Rita, Sue and Bob Too directed by Max Stafford-Clark.

Following its opening at Octagon Theatre from 6 September - 23 September 2017, Andrea Dunbar's landmark play Rita, Sue and Bob Too will run in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Tuesday 9 January 2018 - Saturday 27 January 2018 as part of a UK tour co-produced by Out of Joint, Royal Court Theatre and Octagon Theatre.

With design by Tim Shortall, lighting by Jason Taylor and sound by Emma Laxton.

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 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 became a hit film. Max Stafford-Clark, the play's original director, directs this major new production.

As part of a UK tour Rita, Sue and Bob Too opens at the Royal Court on Tuesday 9 January 2018.

Commenting on the play, Director Max Stafford-Clark said;

"When Andrea wrote her first two plays, she was a teenager from a rough council estate who'd never been to the theatre. Now, thirty-five years after its premiere, Rita Sue and Bob Too takes its place in the Octagon and Royal Court's seasons in the role of Classic Play. It's one of the privileges of my career that Andrea's astute, fresh and funny writing reached my desk, and it is exciting to bring her vivid, albeit alarming world to life again with these fine actors."

Photo credit: Helen Murray