ABSTRACT
Discontented by mismanagement at Drury Lane, the principal actors, led by David Garrick, walked out. They made a pact that none of them would return to the theatre unless all agreed. Their plan was to open their own theatre if Drury Lane manager Charles Fleetwood refused their demands, but when the Lord Chamberlain refused to grant them a license, they were forced to end the strike. Fleetwood took all the striking actors back, except for Charles Macklin, who he mistakenly believed to have been the ringleader of the strike. Garrick’s agreement to return without Macklin led to a lifelong rift between the two men.
