The Rivals
Rivals, The
Author: Richard Brinsley Sheridan
First Performance: 1775, London
Published: 1775
Genre: Com. in 5 acts; prose
Setting: Bath, 1770s
Cast: 9m, 5f, extras
Captain Jack Absolute is the son of the wealthy Sir Anthony Absolute. He has come to Bath, pretending to be mere Ensign Beverley, knowing that this will offer him more success in his wooing of Lydia Languish, a young beauty devoted to sentimental novels. However, he finds himself encountering opposition, not only from Lydia's shrewish aunt Mrs Malaprop but also from the fiery old Sir Lucius O'Trigger and the country bumpkin Bob Acres. When Jack's father arranges for him to marry Lydia, Lydia imagines at first that Ensign Beverley has tricked the old man into believing that he is his son. Challenged to a duel by both Acres and Sir Lucius,...
[The entire page is 332 words long]
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