The Rivals
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The Rivals
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About this listen
Romantic havoc ensues in the town of Bath when Sir Anthony arrives to arrange the marriage of his son Captain Jack Absolute to the wealthy Lydia Languish. Jack and Lydia are already in love, but because of Lydia’s obsession with romantic novels, Jack has disguised himself as a poor officer named Ensign Beverly - and he is only one of Lydia’s many suitors. The Rivals was Sheridan’s first play, and this charming comedy of manners continues to be widely performed today.
Includes an interview with Linda Kelly, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the author of Richard Brinsley Sheridan: A Life.
Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood, in May 2011.
Adapted for Radio and Directed by: Martin Jarvis
Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg
An L.A. Theatre Works Full-Cast Performance Featuring:
- Rosalind Ayres as Mrs. Malaprop
- Kenneth Danziger as Thomas
- Lucy Davis as Lydia Languish
- Neil Dickson as David
- Sarah Drew as Julia
- Julian Holloway as Sir Lucius OÕTrigger
- Christopher Neame as Sir Anthony Absolute
- Lloyd Owen as Captain Jack Absolute
- Moira Quirk as Lucy
- Alan Shearman as Fag
- Simon Templeman as Bob Acres
- Matthew Wolf as Faulkland
Associate Producer: Christina Montaño
Recording, Editing, and Mixing Engineer:
Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood
Sound Effects Artist: Tony Palermo
©2011 L.A. Theatre Works (P)2011 L.A. Theatre WorksEditorial reviews
"The cause of all this is love." What a wonderful way to begin this delightful comedy of romance, mistaken identity, and manners. First performed in London in 1775, this work is the theatrical link between Shakespeare and the modern-era works of Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. In this energetic production, the entire cast, including standouts Lloyd Owen and Lucy Davis, handle the heightened language and eighteenth-century rhythms with joy and clarity. But leave it to the incomparable Rosalind Ayres as Mrs. Malaprop to steal the show. The original source of the word “malapropism,” the literarily unique Mrs. Malaprop has only to utter upside-down phrases like "she's as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile" to keep the listener doubled-up with laughter. Classic theater.