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Theatronomics offers an account of the eighteenth-century London stage.

It is a portrait of London through the cheques, balances, and receipts of the theatre – the beating heart of eighteenth-century society.

We tell the story of the commercial side of the entertainment industry to understand why some people made it…. and others did not.

From nightly takings to performer salaries and payments to staff and suppliers, from kettle-drummers to coal merchants to rat-catchers, we bring to light a wide range of financial information.

Our database and visualization tools will allow empirical comparisons between theatres, playwrights, and plays, and show the intricate relationship between finance and drama.

35,000,000
theatre seats

33,000
performances

99 theatre
seasons

8 managerial
regimes

2 theatres

One City

Through these account books, ledgers, and salary records, we follow the money to reveal a new perspective on a remarkable theatrical repertory.