Rita, Sue & Bob Too is coming to the Playhouse this October

A production of the classic 80s play Rita, Sue and Bob Too visits the Liverpool Playhouse this summer as director Max Stafford-Clark brings a story of love, lust and infidelity to Merseyside this October.

Written by Andrea Dunbar, the plot follows the love affair between Rita, Sue and married man Bob. After babysitting his kids Bob offers to give best friends Rita and Sue a lift home, but when he takes the scenic route and offers the two girls ‘a bit of fun’, the trio become involved in a love affair they all believe they control.

Taj Atwal will play Rita following her acclaimed performance in West End production East is East. Making her stage debut as Sue is Gemma Dobson, who appeared in BBC miniseries In the Club in 2014 and playing Bob is James Atherton known for his role in Hollyoaks as character Will Savage.

Samantha Robinson Taj Atwal Sally Bankes David Walker James Atherton Gemma Dobson

Southport-born actor Sally Bankes plays Sue’s mother in the production. Sally, a former bank clerk who worked in Liverpool, pursued her dream to perform on stage at the age of 36 and has performed on the West End in East is East.

Sally is joined by Samantha Robinson, another local actor who recently starred in the ITV drama Little Boy Blue as Janette Mercer – Sean Mercer’s mother.

Completing the full cast is David Walker who plays the role of Sue’s father. David has performed on stage across England and has starred inEmmerdale, Coronation Street and The Royal.

Rita, Sue and Bob Too is a dark, but wickedly funny Northern romp. Adapted into a cult-classic film 30 years ago in 1987, the semi-autobiographical play by Andrea Dunbar was written when she was just 19 years old. The story depicts a portrait of two girls caught between a brutal childhood and uncompromising future, hungry for adult adventure.

Director Max Stafford-Clark worked previously with Andrea on her first production The Arbor written when she was just fifteen. He said:

“When Andrea wrote her first two plays, she was a teenager from a rough council estate who’d never been to the theatre. 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.”

Rita, Sue and Bob Too is a visiting production by Out Of Joint, Bolton Octagon and Royal Court Theatre London. The play will be at the Playhouse fromTuesday 10 October to Saturday 14 October 2017. For more information and to book tickets visit: www.everymanplayhouse.com/whats-on/rita-sue-and-bob-too.