Mrs Malaprop Miss Lydia Languish Faulkland Acres Sir Lucius O'Trigger Fag David Coachman Errand boy servants Sir Anthony Absolute Captain Jack Absolute Julia Lucy Maid
The Rivals was Sheridan's first play. At the time, he was a young newlywed living in Bath. At Sheridan's insistence, upon marriage his wife Eliza (born Elizabeth Linley) had given up her career as a singer. This was proper for a gentleman's wife, but it was difficult because Eliza would have earned a substantial income as a performer. Instead, the Sheridans lived beyond their means as they entertained the gentry and nobility with Eliza's singing (in private parties) and Richard's wit. Finally, in need of funds, Richard turned to the only craft that could gain him the remuneration he desired in a short time: he began writing a play. Over the years, he had written and published essays and poems, and among his papers were numerous unfinished plays, essays and political tracts, but never had he undertaken such an ambitious project as this. In a short time, however, he completed The Rivals.
Reception
The Rivals was first performed at Covent Garden, London, on 17 January 1775, with comedian Mary Bulkley as Julia Melville.[3] It was roundly vilified by both the public and the critics for its length, for its bawdiness and for the character of Sir Lucius O'Trigger being a meanly written role played very badly. The actor, John Lee, after being hit with an apple during the performance, stopped and addressed the audience, asking "By the pow'rs, is it personal? — is it me, or the matter?" Apparently, it was both. Sheridan immediately withdrew the play and in the next 11 days, rewrote the original (the Larpent manuscript) extensively, including a new preface in which he allowed:
For my own part, I see no reason why the author of a play should not regard a first night's audience as a candid and judicious friend attending, in behalf of the public, at his last rehearsal. If he can dispense with flattery, he is sure at least of sincerity, and even though the annotation be rude, he may rely upon the justness of the comment.
Sheridan also apologised for any impression that O'Trigger was intended as an insult to Ireland. Rewritten and with a new actor, Laurence Clinch, in the role of O'Trigger, the play reopened on 28 January to significant acclaim. Indeed, it became a favourite of the royal family, receiving five command performances in ten years, and also in the Colonies (it was George Washington's favourite play[citation needed]). It became a standard show in the repertoires of 19th-century companies in England and the US.[citation needed]
The play is now considered to be one of Sheridan's masterpieces, and the term malapropism was coined in reference to one of the characters in the play. She was first played by Jane Green.
Julia Melville, a young relation of the Absolutes, in love with Faulkland
Lucy, Lydia's conniving maid
Plot
The play is set in 18th-century Bath, a town that was legendary for conspicuous consumption and fashion at the time. Wealthy, fashionable people went there to "take the waters", which were believed to have healing properties. Bath society was much less exclusive than London, and hence it provides an ideal setting for the characters.
The plot centres on the two young lovers, Lydia and Jack. Lydia, who reads a lot of popular novels of the time, wants a purely romantic love affair. To court her, Jack pretends to be "Ensign Beverley", a poor army officer. Lydia is enthralled with the idea of eloping with a poor soldier in spite of the objections of her guardian, Mrs. Malaprop, a moralistic widow. Mrs. Malaprop is the chief comic figure of the play, thanks to her continual misuse of words that sound like the words she intends to use, but mean something completely different (the term malapropism was coined in reference to the character).
Lydia has two other suitors: Bob Acres (a somewhat buffoonish country gentleman), and Sir Lucius O'Trigger, an impoverished and combative Irish gentleman. Sir Lucius pays Lucy to carry love notes between him and Lydia (who uses the name "Delia"), but Lucy is swindling him: "Delia" is actually Mrs. Malaprop.
As the play opens, Sir Anthony arrives suddenly in Bath. He has arranged a marriage for Jack, but Jack demurs, saying he is in love already. They quarrel violently. But Jack soon learns through the gossip of Lucy and Fag that the marriage arranged by Sir Anthony is, in fact, with Lydia. He makes a great show of submission to his father, and is presented to Lydia with Mrs. Malaprop's blessing. Jack confides to Lydia that he is only posing as Sir Anthony's son. She annoys Mrs. Malaprop by loudly professing her eternal devotion to "Beverley" while rejecting "Jack Absolute".
Jack's friend Faulkland is in love with Julia, but he suffers from jealous suspicion. He is constantly fretting himself about her fidelity. Faulkland and Julia quarrel foolishly, making elaborate and high-flown speeches about true love that satirise the romantic dramas of the period.
Bob Acres tells Sir Lucius that another man ("Beverley") is courting the lady of Acres' choice (Lydia, though Sir Lucius does not know this). Sir Lucius immediately declares that Acres must challenge "Beverley" to a duel and kill him. Acres goes along, and writes out a challenge note – despite his own rather more pacifist feelings, and the profound misgivings of his servant David. Sir Lucius leaves, Jack arrives, and Acres tells him of his intent. Jack agrees to deliver the note to "Beverley", but declines to be Acres' second.
Mrs. Malaprop again presents Jack to Lydia, but this time with Sir Anthony present, exposing Jack's pose as "Beverley". Lydia is enraged by the puncturing of her romantic dreams, and spurns Jack contemptuously.
Sir Lucius has also learned of the proposed marriage of Jack and Lydia, and determines to challenge Jack. He meets Jack, who, smarting from Lydia's rejection, agrees to fight him without even knowing the reason. They will meet at the same time as Acres is scheduled to fight "Beverley".
At the duelling ground, Acres is very reluctant to fight, but Sir Lucius will have no shirking. Jack and Faulkland arrive. Acres learns that "Beverley" is actually his friend Jack, and begs off from their duel. However, Jack is quite willing to fight Sir Lucius, and they cross swords.
David informs Mrs. Malaprop, Lydia, Julia, and Sir Anthony of the duel, and they all rush off to stop it. Sir Lucius explains the cause of his challenge, but Lydia denies any connection to him, and admits her love for Jack. Mrs. Malaprop announces that she is Delia, but Sir Lucius recoils in horror, realising that he has been hoaxed. Sir Anthony consoles Mrs. Malaprop, Julia is reconciled to Faulkland, and Acres invites everyone to a party.
Adaptations
Musical (1935)
A successful musical production - titled Rivals!, with songs by Herbert Hughes and lyrics by John Robert Monsell - was staged by Vladimir Rosing at London's Kingsway Theatre in October 1935. The musical ran for 86 performances.Queen Mary attended one of the performances.[4][5]
The play was rewritten as a 1958 episode of the comedic Western television series Maverick, starring the remarkably similar-looking James Garner and Roger Moore, and was the only episode of the series in which Garner and Moore appeared together (Moore did not portray "Beau Maverick," Bret Maverick's cousin, until after Garner had left the series two seasons later). The Absolutes were renamed "Vandergelt" with Neil Hamilton as the wealthy father. Patricia "Pat" Crowley plays the leading lady, whose name is changed from the original play's "Lydia Languish" to "Lydia Lynley." The episode, telecast midway through the series' second season, was called "The Rivals" and the playwright Sheridan was given due credit.
The BBC produced a version which was broadcast in 1970 as part of their Play of the Month series, starring Jeremy Brett as Captain Jack Absolute. Another BBC production was broadcast in 1989 as part of their Theatre Night series, starring Donald Sinden as Sir Anthony Absolute.[8]
Jack Absolute novels (2003–2006)
The leading character of the play was taken to be the identity of the hero of a series of historic fictional adventure books by actor/novelist Chris Humphreys. These take place in Cornwall, London, Quebec, the American colonies during both the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution, and Portugal.
A new adaptation written by Richard Bean and Oliver Chris titled Jack Absolute Flies Again was due to premiere at the National Theatre, London in April 2020, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the production eventually opened on 15 July 2022. The play has been updated to July 1940 to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
Biographical sources
Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The Rivals (New Mermaids 1979, Elizabeth Duthie, Ed.).
Linda Kelly, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, A Life (Sinclair-Stevenson 1997).
Brooke Allen, The Scholar of Scandal, a review of Fintan O’Toole, The Traitor's Kiss: The Life of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 1751–1816 (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1998), at New Criterion.
A malapropism is the incorrect use of a word in place of a word with a similar sound, either unintentionally or for comedic effect, resulting in a nonsensical, often humorous utterance. An example is the statement attributed to baseball player Yogi Berra, regarding switch hitters, "He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious", with the accidental use of amphibious rather than the intended ambidextrous. Malapropisms often occur as errors in natural speech and are sometimes the subject of media attention, especially when made by politicians or other prominent individuals. Philosopher Donald Davidson has said that malapropisms show the complex process through which the brain translates thoughts into language.
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Anglo-Irish playwright, writer and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 to 1812, representing the constituencies of Stafford, Westminster and Ilchester. The owner of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London, he wrote several prominent plays such as The Rivals (1775), The Duenna (1775), The School for Scandal (1777) and A Trip to Scarborough (1777), along with serving as Treasurer of the Navy from 1806 to 1807. After dying in 1816, Sheridan was buried at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, and his plays remain a central part of the Western canon and are regularly performed around the world.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1775.
The School for Scandal is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777.
Geraldine McEwan was an English actress, who had a long career in film, theatre and television. Michael Coveney described her, in a tribute article, as "a great comic stylist, with a syrupy, seductive voice and a forthright, sparkling manner".
Patrick Geoffrey Ryecart is an English actor.
Butter in a Lordly Dish is the name of a half-hour radio play written by Agatha Christie and first performed on the BBC Radio Light Programme on Tuesday 13 January 1948 at 9.30pm on Mystery Playhouse presents The Detection Club. It was repeated on Friday 16 January at 4.15pm.
The Duenna is a three-act comic opera, mostly composed by Thomas Linley the elder and his son, Thomas Linley the younger, to an English-language libretto by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. At the time, it was considered one of the most successful operas ever staged in England, and its admirers included Samuel Johnson, William Hazlitt and George Byron.
William Dowton (1764–1851) was a British actor.
Julia Betterton Glover was an Irish-born stage actress well known for her comic roles in the late 18th and 19th centuries.
Peter Kellogg is a musical theater book writer and lyricist. He wrote the lyrics and the book for the 1992 production of the Broadway musical Anna Karenina, for which he received two 1993 Tony Award nominations, one for Best Book of a musical and one for the Best Original Score. He also wrote the lyrics and book for the musicals Chasing Nicolette, Desperate Measures, Lincoln In Love, Stunt Girl, Money Talks, and The Rivals which have been read and produced regionally. Kellogg also received the New York Musical Theatre Festival 2006 award for Excellence in Musical Theatre Writing (Book) for Desperate Measures. On June 3, 2018, Kellogg won the 2018 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics for Desperate Measures.
Lottie Venne was a British comedian, actress and singer of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, who enjoyed a theatre career spanning five decades. Venne began her stage career in musical burlesque before moving into farce and comedy. She appeared in several works by each of F. C. Burnand and W. S. Gilbert and was often in plays with Charles Hawtrey later in her career.
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Frederick Edward Jones (1759–1834) was an Irish theatre manager.
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The Rivals is a 1961 television play broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was directed by Christopher Muir.
Jack Absolute Flies Again is a play by Richard Bean and Oliver Chris, based on Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 1775 play The Rivals, a comedy of manners.
Laurence Clinch (c1740-1812) was an Irish actor, familiarly known as Larry, and accomplished in both tragedy and comedy. The popular farce St Patrick's Day was written and performed to showcase his particular talent.
Charles Connor was an Irish stage actor of the early nineteenth century. Educated at Trinity College Dublin, he was active in Dublin at the Crow Street Theatre during the early stages of his career. He also featured at the Theatre Royal, Bath. He appeared as part of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden company from 1816 to 1826, where he was considered the resident stage Irishman. His death from apoplexy in St James's Park on 7 October 1826 opened the way for a fresh actor Tyrone Power to take over his parts. The Gentleman's Magazine particularly remembered him for his performances as Sir Lucius O'Trigger in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals.
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