Ralph Roister Doister

Ralph Roister Doister is a comic play by Nicholas Udall, generally regarded as the first comedy to be written in the English language.

The date of its composition is disputed, but the balance of opinion suggests that it was written in about 1552, when Udall was a schoolmaster in London, and some theorize the play was intended for public performance by his pupils - who were all male, as were all actors at that period. However, the work was not published until 1567, eleven years after its author's death.