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Article THE LIFE OF THE LATE MR. JOHN PALMER, ← Page 5 of 8 →
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The Life Of The Late Mr. John Palmer,
amused with reading accounts of his own death in the newspapers-, and great panegyrics on his theatrical abilities . In 1785 , Mr . Palmer and some friends set on foot a plan for building a theatre near Wellclose Square , in which he supposed himself authorized to perform plays under sanation of the Governor of the Tower , it being in that district . ' The theatre was finished , and opened in the summer of 1787 with As you like itand Miss in her
, , Teens ; but the Managers of the Theatres-Royal in the west end of the town considering this as an invasion of their property , took every step to suppress it ; nor has any regular drama been represented there since , although other amusements of singing , dancing , & c . similar to those of Sadlers-Welk , ' have been permitted .
It may be remarked upon this contest , that the patentees of the winter theatres arrogated a power incompatible with freedom . — - While they are permitted to crush all nascent attempts in any other quarter , they are in fact the directors , not merely for the public , but of the public pleasures . We will suppose , for instance , tlfat managers should at any time venture upon mean and partial arrangements , or exorbitant demands—what have they to apprehend from public
resentment ? Nothing . The people will not , to punish them , go without amusement ; and they cannot countenance more liberal plans in another place ; because there are the insurmountable obstacles of parchment in the way . This contest between the three Theatres-Royal and the Royally Theatre , as it was called , produced much invective , and a long paper
war ; in which Mr . P . was obliged to yield , though supported by many gentlemen of fortune . When he found he could not exhibit at the Royalty Theatre , he performed at Worcester and other parts of the country ; and afterwards at the Haymarket and Drury-Lane . The expences incurred at the Royalty-Theatre , united to those consequent on his own love of pleasure , had involved him in considerable debts ,, for which he suffered a long confinement in the Kinsr ' s- Bench orison .
In Term lime he gave a Miscellaneous Entertainment near Covent-Garden , and as the Circus is in the rules ofthe King ' s Bench , he performed there , and was the Manager , at twenty-seven pounds per week , which enabled him to support his family with some degree of splendor . Notwithstanding he lived in this apparent ease and affluence , during
a part of the j ear , yet ' confinement to one spot became extremely , irksome to a man accustomed to roam at large , and to enjoy the pleasures of social life in all its variegated shades . He proposed to his creditors , as the condition of his liberation , to allow a certain sum annually , to be deducted 'from his salary , for the liquidation of his debts . This was accepted ; and we understand he punctual !} performed his
engagement to the last hour of his life . He ' was afterwards restored to his former honours at Drury-Lane and the Haymarket , where he performed again with undiminished reputation . in the present summer he obtained an engagement at the Liverpool Theatre . .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Life Of The Late Mr. John Palmer,
amused with reading accounts of his own death in the newspapers-, and great panegyrics on his theatrical abilities . In 1785 , Mr . Palmer and some friends set on foot a plan for building a theatre near Wellclose Square , in which he supposed himself authorized to perform plays under sanation of the Governor of the Tower , it being in that district . ' The theatre was finished , and opened in the summer of 1787 with As you like itand Miss in her
, , Teens ; but the Managers of the Theatres-Royal in the west end of the town considering this as an invasion of their property , took every step to suppress it ; nor has any regular drama been represented there since , although other amusements of singing , dancing , & c . similar to those of Sadlers-Welk , ' have been permitted .
It may be remarked upon this contest , that the patentees of the winter theatres arrogated a power incompatible with freedom . — - While they are permitted to crush all nascent attempts in any other quarter , they are in fact the directors , not merely for the public , but of the public pleasures . We will suppose , for instance , tlfat managers should at any time venture upon mean and partial arrangements , or exorbitant demands—what have they to apprehend from public
resentment ? Nothing . The people will not , to punish them , go without amusement ; and they cannot countenance more liberal plans in another place ; because there are the insurmountable obstacles of parchment in the way . This contest between the three Theatres-Royal and the Royally Theatre , as it was called , produced much invective , and a long paper
war ; in which Mr . P . was obliged to yield , though supported by many gentlemen of fortune . When he found he could not exhibit at the Royalty Theatre , he performed at Worcester and other parts of the country ; and afterwards at the Haymarket and Drury-Lane . The expences incurred at the Royalty-Theatre , united to those consequent on his own love of pleasure , had involved him in considerable debts ,, for which he suffered a long confinement in the Kinsr ' s- Bench orison .
In Term lime he gave a Miscellaneous Entertainment near Covent-Garden , and as the Circus is in the rules ofthe King ' s Bench , he performed there , and was the Manager , at twenty-seven pounds per week , which enabled him to support his family with some degree of splendor . Notwithstanding he lived in this apparent ease and affluence , during
a part of the j ear , yet ' confinement to one spot became extremely , irksome to a man accustomed to roam at large , and to enjoy the pleasures of social life in all its variegated shades . He proposed to his creditors , as the condition of his liberation , to allow a certain sum annually , to be deducted 'from his salary , for the liquidation of his debts . This was accepted ; and we understand he punctual !} performed his
engagement to the last hour of his life . He ' was afterwards restored to his former honours at Drury-Lane and the Haymarket , where he performed again with undiminished reputation . in the present summer he obtained an engagement at the Liverpool Theatre . .