Covent Garden
In 1803 he became manager of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, in which he had acquired a sixth share for £23,000. The theatre was burned down on 20 September 1808, and the raising of the prices after the opening of the new theatre, in 1809, led to the Old Price Riots, which practically suspended the performances for three months. Kemble had been nearly ruined by the fire, and was only saved by a generous loan, afterwards converted into a gift, of £10,000 from the Duke of Northumberland. Kemble took his final leave of the stage in the part of Coriolanus on 23 June 1817.
His retirement was probably hastened by the rising popularity of Edmund Kean. The remaining years of his life were spent chiefly abroad, and he died at Lausanne on 26 February 1823.
Read more about this topic: John Philip Kemble
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