Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Preface
- Conventions of Transcription
- 1 The Siren Song: Kitty Clive in the Playhouse
- 2 ‘The Lovely Virgin tun'd her Voice’: Henry Carey and the Production of a Native Songster
- 3 ‘Charm'd with the sprightly Innocence of Nell’: The Metamorphosis of Miss Raftor
- 4 ‘HINT writes, and RAFTOR acts in Drury-lane’: Clive, Fielding, and Theophilus Cibber
- 5 ‘The pious Daughter, and the faithful Wife’: Fielding, Miller, and Clive, 1733–35
- 6 ‘A Likeness where none was to be found’: Contested Images of Clive, 1734–37
- 7 The Patriot Soprano: British Worthies at Drury Lane
- 8 Handel and the Sweet Bird of Drury Lane, 1740–43
- 9 The Case of Mrs. Clive
- 10 Of Scuffles and Rivalries: The Demise of ‘Kitty Cuckoe’
- 11 From Miss Lucy to Mrs. Riot: Voice and Caricature
- 12 Clive on Clive: The Rehearsal: Or, Bays in Petticoats
- 13 Conclusion: The Fair Songster
- Appendix 1 Catherine Clive's Roles 1728–69
- Appendix 2 Lines in Catherine Clive's Repertory 1728–69
- Appendix 3 The Case of Mrs. CLIVE (1744)
- Select Bibliography
- Index
9 - The Case of Mrs. Clive
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 September 2019
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Preface
- Conventions of Transcription
- 1 The Siren Song: Kitty Clive in the Playhouse
- 2 ‘The Lovely Virgin tun'd her Voice’: Henry Carey and the Production of a Native Songster
- 3 ‘Charm'd with the sprightly Innocence of Nell’: The Metamorphosis of Miss Raftor
- 4 ‘HINT writes, and RAFTOR acts in Drury-lane’: Clive, Fielding, and Theophilus Cibber
- 5 ‘The pious Daughter, and the faithful Wife’: Fielding, Miller, and Clive, 1733–35
- 6 ‘A Likeness where none was to be found’: Contested Images of Clive, 1734–37
- 7 The Patriot Soprano: British Worthies at Drury Lane
- 8 Handel and the Sweet Bird of Drury Lane, 1740–43
- 9 The Case of Mrs. Clive
- 10 Of Scuffles and Rivalries: The Demise of ‘Kitty Cuckoe’
- 11 From Miss Lucy to Mrs. Riot: Voice and Caricature
- 12 Clive on Clive: The Rehearsal: Or, Bays in Petticoats
- 13 Conclusion: The Fair Songster
- Appendix 1 Catherine Clive's Roles 1728–69
- Appendix 2 Lines in Catherine Clive's Repertory 1728–69
- Appendix 3 The Case of Mrs. CLIVE (1744)
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Fleetwood fleeces the company – a cartel is formed and the Lord Chamberlain falls in – the players protest but Fleetwood's ‘Estimate’ prevails – Garrick, Macklin, and ‘Kitty Cuckoe’ part ways – Clive meets De Fesch – Rich abuses, Clive protests; Garrick abuses, Macklin protests – audiences fire Fleetwood
In 1743 Clive was caught up in the second actors’ revolt of her career, but this time her involvement damaged her reputation irreparably. After the Licensing Act of 1737 had closed all but the two royal playhouses, the ensuing duopoly was a temptation to form a cartel that Charles Fleetwood and John Rich did not resist. Fleetwood also stole from the Drury Lane payroll to cover his gambling debts, and the unpaid actors walked out. David Garrick and Charles Macklin headed one rebel faction, Clive another. The players’ only recourse was to the Lord Chamberlain, who had the power to allow players to act outside either licensed playhouse. The Lord Chamberlain, presented with strong evidence of Fleetwood's malfeasance and petitioned by the actors for protection, sided with Fleetwood, whose story was that the exorbitant salaries of his principals had caused a modest deficit at Drury Lane, and that players were public servants who should know their place. Garrick and Macklin then turned enemies, each blaming the other in the press for spearheading the rebellion and betraying his fellows. Macklin lambasted Garrick for returning unilaterally to Drury Lane; Garrick defended this move as a means to help other rebel players return.
Clive fought her image war differently, downplaying her involvement at every opportunity. As in the 1736 Polly Row, she described herself as a victim of managers, now joined in a cartel to exploit players. She was the first of the rebel leaders to publicly charge Fleetwood with lying about their high salaries, her own especially, which she appears to have anticipated could lose audience sympathy for their cause. On the Garrick–Macklin conflict Clive was silent, refusing either to side openly with Macklin, or to return to Drury Lane with Garrick. Instead she took a breakaway group to Covent Garden. Outside the regular Covent Garden season, she led brief runs of masques and oratorios by Willem De Fesch.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Kitty Clive, or the Fair Songster , pp. 275 - 301Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2019