For better or worse, a haircut can change your life. The transformative power of the beautician is moved from the salon to the academy in Willy Russell’s 1980 play, Educating Rita, a comedy about a young hairdresser who enrolls in a university literature course. Her professor, a drunk and depressed poet, is initially unmoved by Rita, whose energetic enthusiasm for learning is matched by the size of her hair. But in this play on Pygmalion the two ultimately teach each other about living happily. An Olivier Award-winning classic, which saw a 1983 film adaptation starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters, Educating Rita takes the stage this summer in a socially distanced, outdoor revival. —C.J.F.