Competition in Theatre

Around the time Country Wife first opened, two men were competing for the favor of the King and the people of London. Thomas Killigrew and Sir William D'avenant were both theatre managers during this time, but it was Thomas Killigrew who was the manager to King Charles II. An intense competition existed between the two men, and Killigrew, who owned the Cockpit Theatre at Drury Lane, believed himself to be the only one entitled to run all of the theatre in England. So, he composed a patent, callled the Killigrew Patent. Below is a copy of the patent.

The Killigrew Patent. Thomas Killigrew, assignee. Patent. Print.