The Rivals

The Rivals is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts. It was first performed at Covent Garden Theater on January 17, 1775.

    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 the wife of a “gentleman,” but it was difficult because Eliza had 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 gaining him the remuneration he desired in a short time: he began writing a play. He had over the years 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.

    The Rivals 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, 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 eleven 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 apologized for any impression O’Trigger was intended as an insult to Ireland. Rewritten and with a new actor, Clinch, in the role of O’Trigger, the play reopened on January 28 to significant acclaim. Indeed, it became a favorite of the Royal family, receiving five command performances in ten years, and also in the Colonies (it was George Washington’s favorite play). It became a standard show in the repertoires of Nineteenth Century companies in England and the United States.

    The play is now considered to be one of Sheridan’s masterpieces, and the term "malapropism" was coined in reference to the character "Mrs. Malaprop" in the play; she was first played by Jane Green.