THE RIVALS
by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
PRODUCTIONS
Tue 15 - Fri 18 March 1949 at 7.30pm
Exeter Hall, Northampton
CAST & CREW
Thomas Horace Smith
Fag Geoffrey Brightman
Captain Absolute William Ford
Lucy Joan Taylor
Maid to Mrs Malaprop Mary Tapscott
Lydia Doreen Chapman
Julia Grace Simons
Mrs Malaprop Phyllis Perkins
Sir Anthony Absolute Ashley Baxter
Faulkland Ronald Arnold
Acres John Parkin
Sir Lucius O'Trigger Michael Green
David James Drinkwater
Jim Leslie Hutchinson
Maid to Julia Jean McNamara
Boy Cyril Turner
Producer Bladon Peake
Associate Producer Ashley Baxter
Set Design John Bennett
Assistant Scenic Artist Barbara Bowstead
Carpenters James Cumberpatch, Frank Mitchell
Electrician Stanley Monk
Stage Managers Margaret Bennett, Keith Green
Assistant Stage Managers Pamela Moore, Pamela Pusey
Wardrobe Mistress Florence C Brawn
Business Manager Alfred J Judkins
Photo gallery
Spotlight on the play
From the production's programme
A gem of English comedy, The Rivals is invested with unflagging invention, vivacity, elegance and a sparkling flow of wit.
In gay and amusing situations, Sheridan depicts the struggle of Captain Absolute to win Lydia Languish, a sentimental young lady, who prefers poverty and elopement to riches and a humdrum wedding.
He therefore passes himself off as a poor ensign named Beverley and encounters entanglements caused by his warm-hearted but choleric father, Sir Anthony, and Lydia's aunt, Mrs Malaprop, whose inaccurate command of language contributes mightily to the fun of the comedy.
Born in Dublin in 1751, Richard Brinsley Sheridan won a reputation of the highest in two distinct spheres of life, as a dramatist and as a Parliamentary orator.
First produced in 1775, The Rivals, written when he was only 22, was a miracle as a first play and ranks close behind his brilliantly satirical comedy of manners, The School for Scandal.