The National Register. — London, England, 1809-11-12 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. r 24 . THEATRICAL UPROAR. " - bade scenic virtue form the rising age, And Truth diffuse her radiance from the stage." Mr. EDITOR, IN a humorous work of the last" century, called " Great Events from small Causes," it is shewn that the most important affairs often depend on and arise from circumstances almost too trivial for the notice even of diurnal historians; we are told that the Barrier Treaty and the disgrace of the DUKE of MARL- DoßOVoll arose from Mrs. M A stilt m's going to Court in a red gown, and who knows how much noise may yet spring from MARY Ails' tea's penny rattle, or Mr. RIDLEY's trumpet, which is said to have cost about as much. 1 have heard of a child quarrelling with its rattle, but that the repose of a Thea trical 'Mon.trch should be disturbed by such a trifle is something so undramatic as only to excite laughter, if we could forget that a young female had actually been sent for that very trifle to pass the night forlorn and unprotected amongst the dregs of society in Tothill Fields Prison.—Jesting apart, however, the present state of the Metropolis in consequence of these theatrical rows is too serious to he slightly passed over; the disapprobation of the Public is no longer confined to the Theatre, but manifests itself in the streets, and this unfortunately has already acted asa stimulus to the riotous and ill •disposed to infest the different parts of the town with " Old Prices," and other clamourous vociferations, so as not onl.; to awaken the peaceable citizens and their wives, hut evert to disturb the Watchmen! It is in fact, Sir, no longer a simple question between the Manager and the Public; it now pot only deserves, but imperiously requires the interference of the civil magistrate, not indeed in the way that interference has already been exhibited, but in a way which ,will strike at the root of the evil. With the moderate part of the Public, the original rise of prices, is completely forgotten in their indigna tion at its accompaniments, and from the contemptuous neglect of the Mttnager to give them fair satisfaction on the subject of the Prices, their attention has been turned more to the affair of the Private `-:axes than it would otherwise have been. 'With respect to the Price, , , if the Manager had at first given his reasons in detail for their rise, I have that opinion of John Bull's liber ality, that even if 151. per cent on the real capital had been taken, he would not have objected to it in a precarious concern, st here great part of the capital stock is certainly subject to great deterioration from wear and tear; but when he sees this Manager come forward with a statement tacked to the report, but evidently not authorized by the signatures which actually precede it, and like my " Lord Peter," when he treats his broth ers with a mouldy loaf and tells them that if they don't believe it to be a nice leg of mutton, they may be d—d to all eternity, when he sees this, Sir, he is tempted to suspect that this state- Silent has been drawn from the wrong pigeon hole, and that he is -fobbed off with some memoir for the special information of those very inquisitive gentlemen, the Assessors of the Income Tax. Our moralists exclaim against the " Private Boxes" as a novel Imisac. . Mr. Kemble may, however, plead precedent for them. Old STO w E tells us that even as early as ELIZABETH'S Ogle, 66 Churches were forsaken, and play-houses thronged. Great Inns were used for this purpose, which had secret cham bers and plates, as well as open stages and galleries. Here maids and good citizen's children were inveigled and allured to private and unmeet contracts ;"—and, now, Sir, if custom is a law, . surely titis will suffice; John Bull, however, seems to think other s% ise, and his terms of pewee now are, " Old Prices, no Private Boxes, and Brandon's discharge." Although Government have riot yet taken notice of these nocturnal disturbances, perhaps so inneli engaged in their performances behind the curtain, that they have not time to attend to what is going on before it, 1 am pleased to find that some of the public have commenced an oppo sition to Theatrical monopoly by a subscription for a New NOT. le. Theatre; to this measure a counter opposition has arisen on the pleaof a dormant patent, but Sir, when the DA•ENANTS sold their patent to }licit, and when his mismanagement provoked the actors to a secession under the banners of BETTERTON, it was the unanimous opinion of the most celebrated Lawyers, that (he grants from CHARLES to KILLIGREW Mid DAVENANT, did not preclude the reigning prince from giving similar licenses, and on the delivery of this opinion, the licence was granted which established the Theatre in Lincolns Inn Fields. What was Law then, must surely be Law now ; unless, indeed, that some alteration is made in the principle by that very unpopular act which in 1737 took from the Crown the power of licensing any more Theatres, a point which it behoves the promoters of this plan to examine minutely. This plan, however, of a New The atre cannot produce that speedy remedy now so absolutely ne cessary; and as there seem to exist some doubts respecting the power of the Chamberlain to interfere beyond the mere licencing of plays, I have paid some attention to the practice of former times, and find that even at the instance of the Performers against the Managers in 1709, the Lord Chamberlain issued an order forbidding the patentees of Drury Lane to perform any longer, and the house was actually shut, whilst the Theatre in the Hay Market was licensed both as a Play-house and an Opera house for the use of the dissatisfied Actors. If such justice could he administered to the Performers, how Much greater right have the Public to demand it; the Managers, it is said, ground the right of raising the prices on a clause in the patent authorizing them to charge reasonable sums; of that, however, surely the Public have a right to judge, and though it is not wished that the house should be shut up entirely, it is not an unfair expec. tation (in the part of the friends to order, that the Chamberlain should use a temporary exercise of his authority until some con ciliatory and satisfactory means are taken to allay that ferment, which though at present confined to theatrical operations, may be a nucleus for scenes of riot not only disgraceful but highly dan gerous. When GARRICK in 1754 excited the public discontent by the employment of Frenchmen in an English Theatre in the famous " Chinese festival," our late gracious Sovereign was in. duced to give a kind of sanction to it by a royal command on the first night of performance; this, however, did not act as a quietus to the indignation of the audience, and when the good old monarch was told the cause of the uproarious contest, he seemed to enjoy the scene, and actually joined in the riot by laughing most heartily ; fortunately there was no box-keeper reconnoitring through the peep-holes, otherwise he might, per haps, have been carried to Bow-street. Even those who approve of the principle of the opposition must, however, deprecate all riot, I shalt, therefore, just remind my fellow citizens, that when the oppositionists to full prices, at Covent Garden, attended regularly at the Theatre, but con. tented themselves with laughing, hissing, and other noises, to interrupt the play, Mr. Beard found himself obliged to submit, and the magna charta of half-price was ratified between the Theatric Monarch and his faithful Commons. Let then the motto of the day be, Order, Perseverance, a fair statement to ustify the rise, or else OLD PRICZI COVENT-GARDEN 7HEATRE. The 'Opposition, after experiencing some fluctuations and variations, have now. completely reduced the whole performance on the stage to dumb chew . Thus, the play and farce flitter before a numerous assemblage of vocal and instrumental performers without the slightest attention being paid to either, or a word of them being heard. The 0. P.'s have occupied a s►rung position in the pit during the whole of the week; advantageously posted in the boxes. In the dress.boxes some 0. P's conspicuously seated in front, displayed placards, amidst the reiterated cheers of the pit. The police in inakiug attempts to take Persons into custody, in the pit, have frequently been I 1