ABSTRACT
Robbers, pickpockets, and prostitutes inhabited the neighborhood of Drury Lane and Covent Garden. In the theatre, spectators were packed tightly, separated by traditional class distinctions: servants in the upper gallery; middle-class tradesmen just below them; nobility (and courtesans) in the boxes; critics and self-styled critics in the pit. It was a place to see and be seen; theatre encounters sometimes led to romance or even marriage. Audiences regarded themselves as full-scale participants; they claimed the right to veto a play or a performance. Rowdy behavior and even riots were a reaction to political, economic, personal grievances, some of which were bizarre.
