Synopsis

A rundown council estate in Bradford, where teenage dreams collide with harsh realities and the promise of adulthood looms large.

Rita and Sue, two fifteen-year-old best friends, embark on a sexual relationship with Bob, the married man they babysit for. As their secret liaisons continue, the girls navigate the complexities of desire, jealousy, and the consequences of their actions, all while grappling with the limited opportunities afforded by their working-class background.

Andrea Dunbar’s raw and unflinching Rita, Sue and Bob Too is a brutally honest portrayal of teenage sexuality and class dynamics in 1980s Britain. Through sharp, often darkly comic dialogue, Dunbar explores themes of poverty, generational cycles, and the limited choices available to young women in economically depressed areas. The play’s frank depiction of underage sex and its refusal to moralise shocked audiences upon its premiere, but its authentic voice and keen observations of working-class life have cemented its place as a landmark of British theatre.