The Rivals

In The Rivals, Lydia Languish yearns for a romantic elopement rather than a more conventional marriage. Thus the wealthy Captain Absolute has wooed her disguised as a poor ensign. Confusions pile on confusions as Mrs. Malaprop, Lydia’s aunt and guardian, threatens to disinherit her if she does not give up the penniless ensign and instead choose Absolute. Other rivals trying to win Lydia’s hand include Bob Acres, a less-than-fashionable country squire, and Sir Lucius O’Trigger, a fortune-hunting Irish baronet. The plot is complicated further by Mrs. Malaprop’s own amorous designs on Sir Lucius. No one is spared from Sheridan’s witty and comical satire of upper class manners and mores.