Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Rivals cover art

The Rivals

By: Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Narrated by: Rosalind Ayres, Kenneth Danziger, Lucy Davis, Simon Templeman, Lloyd Owen, Moira Quirk, Matthew Wolf
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £6.39

Buy Now for £6.39

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The School for Scandal cover art
She Stoops to Conquer cover art
Joseph Andrews cover art
The Noel Coward BBC Radio Drama Collection cover art
Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare cover art
W.M. Thackeray: A BBC Radio Drama Collection cover art
The Life of Samuel Johnson cover art
She Stoops to Conquer cover art
The Duchess of Malfi & The White Devil cover art
The Christopher Marlowe BBC Radio Drama Collection cover art
The Yellowplush Papers (Classic Serial) cover art
Tennessee Williams: A BBC Radio Drama Collection cover art
Pigs Have Wings cover art
Belinda cover art
Timon of Athens cover art
Tales from Shakespeare cover art

Editor 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.

Summary

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 Works

What listeners say about The Rivals

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful!

This is an excellent, authentic and spirited performance of the play. The acting is very convincing and all of the parts are well voiced. I enjoyed it so much I listened to it twice. Bravo!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful