At the Haymarket Theatre London 207 years ago today, one of the most curious riots in theatrical annals occured. In 1767 Foote had produced a burlesque, the author of which has never been discovered, called The Tailors: A Tragedy for Warm Weather. Dowton announced the revival of the piece for his benefit. As the title implies, it was a satire about Tailors, and when the posters were seen, a meeting was organised by the tailors of London, who vowed to oppose the performance by any means neccesary. Menacing letters were sent to Dowton, telling him that seventeen thousand tailors would attend to hiss and boo the piece, and one who signed himself "DEATH" added that ten thousand more could be found if required. These threats were laughed at by the actors; but when night came, it was discovered that the tailors were serious, and that, with few exceptions, they had contrived to secure every seat in the theatre, while a mob outside tried to gain admittance. The moment Dowton appeared upon the stage, there was an uproar, and someone threw a pair of shears at him. Not a word would the rioters listen to, nor would they accept any compromise in the way of changing the piece. They howled and hissed without intermission, hundreds of exasperated tailors; outside howled and bellowed thousands of tailers attempted to storm the house. So formidable did the riot become that a magistrate had to be sent for and special constables called out; but these were helpless against the overwhelming odds; eventually the guards were summoned, who made sixteen arrests and ran off the rest.
Perhaps we could enlist a group of real, hardworking, and talented singers and musicians to do the same at the X Factor performances!
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