ABSTRACT
The actors at Drury Lane and Covent Garden formed a close-knit community, in which they looked after each other’s interests, but at times were rivals or even bitter enemies. Professional rivalry often spilled over into personal animosity. The acting profession was emerging from its conventional status on the fringes of society. The leading actors and actresses became wealthy; it was the only profession where a talented, ambitious woman could make as much money as a man, or even more. The tradition of benefit nights, under which an actor would receive the theatre’s profits of one evening, significantly supplanted actors’ incomes.
