THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
By Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Orange Tree Theatre, 1 Clarence Street, Richmond, TW9 2SA until January 24, 2026 then on tour to Theatre Royal Bath (January 27 to 31) and Cambridge Arts Theatre (February 3 to 7)
Tom Littler continues a great run at the Orange Tree with a sparkling and starry revival of Sheridan’s classic 18th century comedy of manners, perfect for the Holidays season. What theater could be better for the conspiratorial whisper or the overheard aside – key to Sheridan – than this?
He’s updated The Rivals to Bath in the Roaring Twenties, when the scenes of romance and revelry are staged around sites like the Assembly Rooms. A giant (for here) period street map covers the floor, convenient if your mind wanders, but thanks to Littler’s pacy direction and the Jazz Age tunes that’s unlikely to happen.
The ‘20s setting is useful too at drawing out the theme of young people torn between tradition and the new age. We see Joëlle Brabban playing the maid Lucy and also as a flapper songstress giving us classics such as ‘Exactly Like You’ and a new ‘period’ song composed by Richard Hough and Tom Attwood, and the scene changes are punctuated by the whole cast bobbing gaily to some nifty Charlestons.
The central plot revolves around young lovers Lydia Languish (Zoe Brough) and Captain Jack Absolute (Kit Young) who seem made for each other, but Lydia, whose head is filled with romantic novels, thinks him far too square and she far too free-spirited to consider him as her beau. This is a cue for various deceptions and disguises so he can win her heart. Along the way Jack ends up being a rival to himself.
Brough, who was so great in Playhouse Creatures at this theater, is suitably feisty in what is unfortunately for her an underwritten part. Young however is fluent, dashing and youthful and displays true star quality. Someone should cast these two in Romeo and Juliet. Often productions of The Rivals are let down by weak romantic leads. The supporting roles are all gems for character actors, but the young leads need to be of equal weight, That’s not an issue here.
Meanwhile Jack’s father, Sir Anthony (Robert Bathurst), is absolutely determined to be obeyed, and Lydia’s guardian Mrs Malaprop (Patricia Hodge) is seeking a love affair of her own, all the while blithely murdering the English language with her, well, Malapropisms. Exasperated at Lucy’s she declaims “she’s as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile!”. The comedy comes not from mocking her but from watching her cling to her linguistic authority.
The blowhard pomposity of Sir Anthony is perfectly captured by Bathurst, and Hodge too delights in being the comic engine of the evening. Here, in Anett Black and Neil Irish’s luxurious costumes, she is decked out in pink pastels with her face framed by a naughty marabou feather on her cloche hat. Being able to witness seasoned performers with acclaimed TV pedigrees close-up and enjoying themselves is one of the pleasures of this theater.
The parallel plot featuring the romance between Jack’s Hooray Henry mate ‘Faulty Falkland and Julia Melville does get rather lost in the rush here, but James Sheldon and Boadicea Ricketts nevertheless give it their all.
Here the wonderfully named character Lucius O’Trigger is transformed from Irish to an American business tycoon down on his luck, and while Colm Gormley tries valiantly with this it doesn’t really come off; it’s as if one of the ‘Noo Yoik’ gangsters wandered in from a production of Kiss Me Kate. Pete Ashmore, looking like he stepped out of PG Woodhouse, gives a great scene-stealing performance as Jack’s valet ‘Fag’, totally inhabiting his 1920s persona.
It all makes for a wonderful evening of jollity and a reminder that a classic, when handled with intelligence and affection, can still absolutely feel like a mirror held up to us and our foolish hearts.
