Admission Prices at the Dorset Garden Theatre: An Analysis of the Duke's Company's Bill for Nell Gwyn's Attendance (1674-1676) (Report‪)‬

In a note published by the Harvard Library Bulletin in 1950, William Van Lennep described a manuscript bill presented to Nell Gwyn for her attendance at the Dorset Garden Theatre between September 1674 and November 1676. (1) Van Lennep offered a transcription of its contents, filled in some missing pieces of information, and added some details concerning the nature of the plays seen by Gwyn. The bill is virtually the only source available for information on the plays staged at this time by this company, (2) and is therefore a valuable account of the activities undertaken by Gwyn as a playgoer and by the Duke's Company. Inasmuch as he made it possible for theatre historians to have access to the bill, Van Lennep's note is quite substantial, as its information proved essential in the elaboration of the calendar of theatrical activities for this period, (3) and became a regular reference in The London Stage. In other respects, however, Van Lennep's contribution must be regarded as insufficient: most of the weight is placed on the bill itself, and Van Lennep merely added brief explanatory notes. The result is that both the original bill and his transcription raise some questions that remain unanswered. The aim of the present essay is to address some of these questions, particularly those concerning the Duke's Company's policy in the ascription of prices for admission. 1. The manuscript bill