21. The Riot Act is read from the stage of Covent Garden in 1809 in an attempt to end the Old Price riots, sparked by increased ticket prices when the theatre was reopened after a fire. The actor-manager John Philip Kemble, dressed for Macbeth, holds up his hands in supplication to the rioting audience, to no avail, as audiences singing Old Price songs, and dancing Old Price dances, made performances impossible for the next month.