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The Old Price Riots of 1809 (also sometimes referred to as the O.P. or OP riots) were caused by rising prices at the new Theatre at
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, after the previous one had been destroyed by fire. Covent Garden was one of two "patent" theatres in London in the nineteenth century, along with Drury Lane. When Drury Lane was burned down, Covent Garden became the premiere theatre in that time. The riots lasted three months, and ended with
John Philip Kemble
John Philip Kemble (1 February 1757 – 26 February 1823) was a British actor. He was born into a theatrical family as the eldest son of Roger Kemble, actor-manager of a touring troupe. His elder sister Sarah Siddons achieved fame with him on t ...
, the manager of the theatre, being forced to make a public apology. It was said that as many as 20 people died and many more were wounded during this event.
Causes
![Covent Garden Theater and the Old Price Riots antisemitic medal, House of Hanover, George IIII, 1760-1820](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Covent_Garden_Theater_and_the_Old_Price_Riots_antisemitic_medal%2C_House_of_Hanover%2C_George_IIII%2C_1760-1820.jpg)
On 20 September 1808, the original
Covent Garden Theatre
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
was destroyed by a fire along with most of the scenery, costumes and scripts. The damage was estimated at £250,000. However, a public subscription was introduced by the Duke of York, King George III and the Duke of Northumberland, which contributed £76,000.
The new theatre opened on 18 September 1809. The cost of constructing and furnishing the building, however, was so high that the management was forced to raise the prices from six
shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...
s to seven for the boxes, from 3 shillings and
sixpence to four shillings for the pit, and the third tier, usually reserved for the public, was converted into private boxes at a rent of £300 per year. The gallery price was unchanged but often referred to as "pigeon holes" since people inside could only see the legs of the performers.
On the opening night, riots broke out during a performance of ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'' and continued throughout the play. At the end, the audience refused to leave so Kemble sent for the
Bow Street police and other private militias, but this only made the situation worse, and the rioters did not disperse until 2am. After the first night, the rioters only came in at half price time, and the inside of the theatre was covered with banners and slogans. Newspapers and journals reported frequently on the riots, citing as central to its continuation a perceived suppression of customary liberties and a lack of dialogue between the patrons and the management.
At one point, a coffin was carried in with the message "Here lies the body of the new price, which died of the
whooping cough
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or ...
on 23 September 1809, aged 6 days". The riots were to last another 64 days. However, unlike earlier riots, little damage was done to the theatre and the whole affair was characterized by a "spirit of fun". The rioters even had a name for themselves: the OPs. The OPs stretched across class and cultural lines, ranging from businessmen to labourers, and pushed Kemble to lower the prices.
Kemble did so (and also issued an apology) and the situation returned to normal, until he tried to maintain half the number of private boxes at the start of the next season – the riots started again, forcing him to withdraw his plan.
Daniel Mendoza and the Old Price Riots
In an attempt to quell the rioters Kemble hired the
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
Daniel Mendoza
Daniel Mendoza (5 July 1764 – 3 September 1836) (often known as Dan Mendoza) was an English prizefighter, who became the 18th boxing champion of England from 1792–1795. He was of Sephardic or Portuguese Jewish descent.''The Jewish Boxer's ...
and his associates to contain them. This tactic misfired and resulted in increased violence, as shown in the contemporary
caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
by
Isaac Robert Cruikshank
Isaac Robert Cruikshank, sometimes known as Robert Cruikshank (27 September 1789 – 13 March 1856), was a caricaturist, illustrator and portrait miniaturist, the less well-known brother of George Cruikshank, both sons of Isaac Cruikshank. Just ...
, ''Killing No Murder as Performing at the Grand National Theatre ''.
[Opened a pub after the Lee fight in ''The Jewish Boxer's Hall of Fame'', Blady, Ken, (1988) Shapolsky Publishers, Inc., New York, NY, p. 15] Mendoza can be seen at the centre, uttering the words '' 'Down down to H--l with all OPs & say twas Dan that sent thee there.' '' Mendoza, who had lost his championship in 1795 and was now in his mid forties, was already semi-retired; he had turned down a return match against Lee in 1807 saying that he was devoted only to teaching the sport. It seems that his participation in the OP Riots also lost him following with his supporters amongst the poorer folk of London, who now saw him fighting on behalf of the 'toffs'. Some of Mendoza's biographers therefore see the incident as a turning point in his popularity, although he still gave occasional demonstration bouts.
History of the Old Price Riots
*Robinson, Terry F
National Theatre in Transition: The London Patent Theatre Fires of 1808-1809 and the Old Price Riots.''BRANCH: Britain, Representation, and Nineteenth-Century History.'' Web. 29 March 2016.
Earlier incidents
There had been previous riots in 1762 when the management of Covent Garden Theatre had threatened to raise seating prices.
References
*The
Theatre Museum
The Theatre Museum in the Covent Garden district of London, England, was the United Kingdom's national museum of the performing arts. It was a branch of the UK's national museum of applied arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum. It opened in 1974 ...
's exhibition in London
Theatrical Experiences in London
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1809 in London
1809 riots
History of theatre
Riots in London
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1800s crimes in London