In 1805, the Angel Street Theatre became the Theatre Royal, and for a period of about sixty years the dramatic amusement of the City was supplied by Stock Companies, no longer vagabonds of the stroller sort. They appeared for a month or two at a time in several towns, being occasionally enriched by the brief engaement of the great London stars.
At this time Worcester was as favourably situated as any town in the Kingdom for theatrical production, for it possessed a decent theatre, something many of the larger towns did not have.
It was also within easy distance of other theatrical towns, so whilst Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool and other larger towns had frequently to be content with second-rate attractions, Worcester shared with Bristol (which was then considered the 'Premier Theatrical Town'), the visits of the greatest dramatic artists then before the British public. It was at this time, 1805, on the English stage at an enormous salary, for which he attempted to treble the price od admission, which in its turn, led to the astonishing 'Old Price Riots'.
