The Opportunity is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley, published in 1640. The play has been called "a capital little comedy, fairly bubbling over with clever situations, and charming character."[1]
The Opportunity was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on 29 November 1634. It was acted by Shirley's regular company, Queen Henrietta's Men, at the Cockpit Theatre. The 1640 quarto was dedicated by Shirley to a personal friend, Capt. Richard Owen. Shirley relied on El Castigo del Penséque by Tirso de Molina as his source for the plot of his play.
The 1640 quarto was printed by Thomas Cotes for the booksellers Andrew Crooke and William Cooke. The play was popular, and was revived early in the Restoration era, in November 1660. During the Interregnum when the theatres were closed, material from The Opportunity was extracted and performed as a droll called The Price of Conceit, published in The Wits in 1672.[2]