The Rivals is Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s social farce set in Bath in 1775. The fashionable world is descending on Bath to show off its finery, take the waters, enjoy the gossip and pursue romance. Among them are the verbally misguided Mrs Malaprop, her absurdly romantic niece Lydia Languish, the blinkered Sir Anthony Absolute, the blustering Irishman Sir Lucius O’Trigger and the bumpkin Bob Acres. Throughout the course of a single day these suitors and schemers and their servants indulge in an assortment of hilariously extravagant intrigues before everyone is paired off to their own satisfaction. 

Peter Hall’s production of The Rivals, which played in his season at Theatre Royal Bath before this West End visit, stars Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, two well-known names who once starred alongside each other in popular sitcom To The Manor Born and are now appearing together on stage for the first time. Keith, who is also known for playing Margot in The Good Life, plays the plum role of Mrs Malaprop, while Bowles takes on Sir Anthony Absolute.

The Theatre Royal Haymarket welcomes back The Rivals, which opened the present theatre in 1821.