The Rivals

Fantastic rehearsal images are in for Orange Tree Theatre 250^th Anniversary production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s comic classic The Rivals. 

Artistic Director Tom Littler will direct Robert Bathurst and Patricia Hodge, alongside Pete Ashmore, Joëlle Brabban, Zoe Brough, Dylan Corbett-Bader, Jim Findley, Colm Gormley, Robert Maskell, Boadicea Ricketts, James Sheldon and Kit Young. 

Tom Littler said, “It’s a real pleasure to be working with this brilliant company on The Rivals. Each actor brings their own insight, energy, and creativity, and I’m excited to see how we’ll capture Sheridan’s humour and wit in the glamour and chaos of the Roaring Twenties.”

Following the run at the Orange Tree, The Rivals will then tour to Theatre Royal Bath (27-31 January 2026) and Cambridge Arts Theatre (3-7 February 2026).

You thought! Thought does not become a young woman. 

Bath in the Roaring Twenties: risqué revelry, romance, and rivalry in the Assembly Rooms – a town torn between tradition and the new age. 

Lydia and Jack are made for each other – but Lydia’s a rebel and Jack’s too posh to be her beau. What’s a chap to do? A little harmless deception, of course. Meanwhile, Jack’s father, Anthony Absolute, is absolutely determined to be obeyed, and Lydia’s guardian Mrs Malaprop is seeking a love-affair of her own – if only she could find the right words….

Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s sparkling satire of love and language has lost none of its bite and brilliance. OT Artistic Director Tom Littler gives this 250th anniversary revival a jazzy new production: a sumptuous treat to chase away the winter cold.

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