St. Patrick's Day, or, The Scheming Lieutenant

Not the most famous play by the Irish playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, but one of the most hilarious. Many twists and lots of irony here. An excellent read, but probably even better on stage. Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) was an Irish playwright and Whig statesman. Richard was educated at Harrow School, and was to study law. However, his highly romantic elopement with Elizabeth Linley ended such hopes. His first play, The Rivals, produced at Covent Garden in 1775, was a failure on its first night. Sheridan cast a more capable actor for the role of the comic Irishman for its second performance, and it was a smash which immediately established the young playwright's reputation. It has gone on to become a standard of English literature. His most famous play School for Scandal (1777) is considered one of the greatest comedies of manners in English.