Jewishness and the Covent Garden OP War: Satiric Perceptions of John Philip Kemble

Abstract

Between 6 and 14 October 1809 Jewish boxers were employed by the management of Covent Garden theatre to curtail the Old Price (OP) war. The significance of this phase of rioting far outweighs its brevity, for accusations that actor-manager John Philip Kemble hired these Jewish boxers would underpin his representation for the remainder of the conflict - often at the expense of accurate chronology. This essay explores those textual and visual commentaries on the conflict, and by doing so demonstrates how contemporaries situated the OP war within narratives of racial conspiracy taking place beyond the physical boundaries of theatrical space.