STEPHEN Tompkinson stars in Educating Rita at Bradford's Alhambra theatre this spring.

Willy Russell's play is about a Liverpool hairdresser who enrols on an Open University course to expand her horizons.

She encounters cynical tutor Frank, a brilliant academic, frustrated poet and dedicated drinker, who is initially less than enthusiastic about teaching Rita. But soon he finds that she ignites his passion for literature and the pair realise how much they can learn from each other. Originally commissioned by the RSC, Educating Rita was a much-loved film starring Oscar-nominated Julie Walters and Michael Caine.

Stephen Tompkinson, who starred in TV's Ballykissangel and Wild at Heart and hit film Brassed Off, plays Frank and Jessica Johnson is Rita in the new stage production, at the Alhambra from May Monday 6- 11.