Upstaged by the Drama in the Audience

Early in 1783 several newspapers published a chart showing the subscribers to the boxes for the coming season at the King’s Theatre, London. The Opera House had recently undergone a substantial refurbishment, creating three tiers of boxes in the auditorium, that made the display by their occupants into another of the evening’s attractions.

The list of subscribers reads like a who’s who of elite society, reflecting the exclusive nature of the opera and dance produced there. In the second half of the 18th century, the Opera House provided a stage for the ‘theatre of the great’; a display not only reinforcing the hierarchy of status within this élite, but also serving as a performance for a broader
public.

Closer examination of the names shows that most of them were women, often the driving force behind a family’s social agenda. Visibility within the audience at the King’s Theatre had become an important arena for women, providing an opportunity to cultivate their family’s patronage networks and political interests. A direct beneficiary of the new layout, they were the most visible occupants, as dressed in formal gowns and expensive jewels, they remained in their seats while male visitors made their round of calls.

The paper will explore this drama in the audience as a nexus between performance, elite society, and British political culture, and how much this was reflected by the glittering display on the stage.