StageArchive

The School for Scandal

Full Length Play

By Richard Brinsley Sheridan(Playwright)

Setting: London, 1770s

Script in Virtual Library: The School for Scandal

Brief Description

For the purpose of this archive, the scene descriptions and line counts, we are using the 1917 Hanson Hart Webster edition which was intended to be as close to a standard edition of the original text as possible. This in contrast to many earlier editions, like that of Augustin Daly, who greatly changed scenes for easy of the Victorian stage and tastes. Sheridan himself wrote multiple variations and was never fully satisfied. Any production at any point in the past, and today, may use any of these many previous editions and further adjust and adapt to their various needs.

Year Written1777

Original LanguageEnglish

Type of WorkFull Length Play

GenreComedy

Translations and Adaptations (1)

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Scene Breakdown (15)

Spoiler Warning! Click the scene to expand for Summary and Characters.

Act	Scene	Setting	Actions
I	I	Lady Sneerwell's House	Complete
I	II	Sir Peter Teazle's House	Complete
II	I	Sir Peter Teazle's House	Complete
II	II	Lady Sneerwell's House	Complete
II	III	Sir Peter Teazle's House	Complete
III	I	Sir Peter Teazle's House	Complete
III	II	Charles Surface's House	Complete
III	III	Charles Surface's House	Complete
IV	I	Picture Room at Charles's	Complete
IV	II	The Parlour	Complete
IV	III	A Library	Complete
V	I	The Library in Joseph Surface's House	Complete
V	II	Sir Peter's Teazle's	Complete
V	III	The Library at Joseph Surface's House	Complete
Epilogue	—	Spoken by Lady Teazle	Complete

Characters (22)

Character Name	Gender	Age	Lines	Scenes	Actions
Sir Peter Teazle	Male	—	201	Act I, Scene IIAct II, Scene IAct II, Scene IIAct II, Scene IIIAct III, Scene I	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Sir Peter Teazleout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Joseph Surface	Male	—	180	Act I, Scene IAct II, Scene IIAct IV, Scene IIIAct V, Scene IAct V, Scene III	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Joseph Surfaceout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Sir Oliver Surface	Male	—	158	Act II, Scene IIIAct III, Scene IAct III, Scene IIAct III, Scene IIIAct IV, Scene I	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Sir Oliver Surfaceout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Charles Surface	Male	—	132	Act III, Scene IIIAct IV, Scene IAct IV, Scene IIIAct V, Scene III	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Charles Surfaceout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Lady Teazle	Female	—	84	Act II, Scene IAct II, Scene IIAct III, Scene IAct IV, Scene IIIAct V, Scene III	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Lady Teazleout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Lady Sneerwell	Female	—	71	Act I, Scene IAct II, Scene IIAct V, Scene IIAct V, Scene III	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Lady Sneerwellout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Rowley	Male	—	70	Act I, Scene IIAct II, Scene IIIAct III, Scene IAct IV, Scene IAct IV, Scene II	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Rowleyout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Mrs. Candour	Female	—	64	Act I, Scene IAct II, Scene IIAct V, Scene II	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Mrs. Candourout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Sir Benjamin Backbite	Male	—	60	Act I, Scene IAct II, Scene IIAct V, Scene II	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Sir Benjamin Backbiteout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Crabtree	Male	—	52	Act I, Scene IAct II, Scene IIAct V, Scene II	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Crabtreeout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Moses	Male	—	40	Act III, Scene IAct III, Scene IIAct III, Scene IIIAct IV, Scene IAct IV, Scene II	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Mosesout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Careless	Male	—	28	Act III, Scene IIIAct IV, Scene I	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Carelessout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Maria	Female	—	24	Act I, Scene IAct II, Scene IIAct III, Scene IAct V, Scene III	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Mariaout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Snake	Male	—	16	Act I, Scene IAct V, Scene III	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Snakeout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Trip	Male	—	13	Act III, Scene IIAct IV, Scene II	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Tripout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Servant to Charles Surface	Male	—	6	Act IV, Scene III	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Servant to Charles Surfaceout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Servant to Lady Sneerwell	Male	any	3	Act I, Scene I	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Servant to Lady Sneerwellout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
1st Gentleman	Male	—	3	Act III, Scene III	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write 1st Gentlemanout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
2nd Gentleman	Male	—	3	Act III, Scene III	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write 2nd Gentlemanout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Sir Harry Bumper	Male	—	2	Act III, Scene III	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Sir Harry Bumperout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Servant to Joseph Surface	Male	—	2	Act V, Scene I	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Servant to Joseph Surfaceout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!
Maid to Mrs. Candour	Female	—	2	Act V, Scene II	Complete 🎭 Nice try, director! You can't write Maid to Mrs. Candourout of the script while they're still bound to an active show roster. Clear them from the productions first!

Edits

A public record of changes to this page. Click a row for details.