The Rivals (1775). By: Richard Brinsley Sheridan: ( A Comedy ) Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 1751 - 7 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a playwright and poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

The Rivals was Sheridan's first play. At the time, he was a young newlywed living in Bath. At Sheridan's insistence, upon marriage his wife Eliza (born Elizabeth Linley) had given up her career as a singer. This was proper for the wife of a "gentleman", but it was difficult because Eliza would have earned a substantial income as a performer. Instead, the Sheridans lived beyond their means as they entertained the gentry and nobility with Eliza's singing (in private parties) and Richard's wit...