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British Drama

Notes saw in Sheridan a young man with energy, shrewdness, and a real sense of theatre. A successful
physician, James Ford, agreed with Garrick’s estimate and increased his investment in the playhouse.
In 1776, Sheridan and Linley became partners with Ford in a half-share of Drury Lane Theatre. Two
years later they bought the other half from Willoughby Lacy, Garrick’s partner.
In fact, Sheridan’s interest in his theatre soon began to seem rather fitful. Nevertheless, he was
responsible for the renewed appreciation of Restoration comedy that followed the revival of the
plays of William Congreve at Drury Lane. In February 1777 he brought out his version of Sir John
Vanbrugh’s The Relapse (1696) as A Trip to Scarborough, again showing his talent for revision. He
gave the rambling plot a neater shape and removed much indelicacy from the dialogue, but the
result was disappointing, probably because of the loss of much of the earlier play’s gusto.
What Sheridan learned from the Restoration dramatists can be seen in The School for Scandal, produced
at Drury Lane in May 1777. That play earned him the title of “the modern Congreve.” Although
resembling Congreve in that its satirical wit is so brilliant and so general that it does not always
distinguish one character from another, The School for Scandal does contain two subtle portraits in
Joseph Surface and Lady Teazle. There were several Restoration models for the portrayal of a country
girl amazed and delighted by the sexual freedom of high society. Sheridan softened his Lady Teazle,
however, to suit the more refined taste of his day. The part combined innocence and sophistication
and was incomparably acted. The other parts were written with equal care to suit the members of
the company, and the whole work was a triumph of intelligence and imaginative calculation. With
its spirited ridicule of affectation and pretentiousness, it is often considered the greatest comedy of
manners in English.
Sheridan’s flair for stage effect, exquisitely demonstrated in scenes in The School for Scandal, was
again demonstrated in his delightful satire on stage conventions, The Critic, which since its first
performance in October 1779 has been thought much funnier than its model, The Rehearsal (1671),
by George Villiers, the 2nd Duke of Buckingham. Sheridan himself considered the first act to be his
finest piece of writing. Although Puff is little more than a type, Sir Fretful Plagiary is not only a
caricature of the dramatist Richard Cumberland but also an epitome of the vanity of authors in
every age.
Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Which of the following play earned Richard Sheridan the title of “the modern Congreve”?
(a) The Critic (b) The Rehearsal
(c) The School for Scandal (d) The Relapse.
2. The School for Scandal was first of all performed at
(a) Drury Lane Theatre (b) Covent Garden Theatre
(c) Westminster Theatre (d) Richmond Theatre.
3. The Sheridan’s first play “The Rivals” was produced at
(a) Drury Lane Theatre (b) Covent Garden Theatre
(c) Richmond Theatre (d) Westminster Theatre.
4. Which of the following play was not a work of Richard Sheridan?
(a) The School for Scandal (b) St Patrick’s Day
(c) The Glorious First of June (d) The Rehearsal.
5. A Trip to Scarborough, a play by Richard Sheridan was acted on
(a) 24 February 1777 (b) 17 January 1775
(c) 8 May 1777 (d) 15 October 1778.

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