Rita, Sue and Bob Too

18

One of the key impacts of the arrival of Channel 4 on the filmmaking landscape of the 1980s was the surfacing of new regional voices; none more so authentic and uncompromising than young Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar. Her plays, which depicted her experience of working-class life in the notorious Buttershaw estate in Bradford, had been staged at the Royal Court.

This film adaptation written by Dunbar, which combined the original play and The Arbor, was championed by legendary producer Sandy Lieberson (Performance 1970) and directed by radical and uncompromising television director Alan Clarke. Dunbar took seedy subject matter, namely an exploitative sexual relationship between two 15-year-old girls and a married adult man, and delivered it as defiant comedy. The film divided critical opinion and sparked debates about its representation and morality. It was even widely marketed with the tagline “Thatcher’s Britain with her knickers down”.

Revisiting Rita, Sue and Bob Too in a post MeToo and grooming scandal world can make for uncomfortable viewing. However, at the core of the film is the distinctive perspective of Andrea Dunbar, a gifted writer who challenges us to face the realities of her experience.

This screening is in partnership with Amy Kitchingman, curator of Green Carnation Film Club, as part of the Cinema Rediscovered on Tour.

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