The theatre world of the English Romantic period gives phenomenal access to the fantasies and daily realities of a people living through one of the Western world's most revolutionary periods. For the history of literary histories of English Romanticism, theatre has been largely invisible in accounts of its literary and social successes. The short answer to what underlies the nature and experience of late Georgian London theatre is struggles over 'legitimacy'. Illegitimate theatres become successful at encroaching on legitimate dramatic terrain, especially on Shakespeare, that 'respectable' audiences often prefer to attend there. Equally suspect in corroborating the longstanding claim that drama is in decline during this period is the second major ingredient of theatre, actors. Romantic commentary on theatre has been the prized aspect of the period's theatrical activity and has referred to the essays and newspaper reviews written by Romantic writers. Evidence for the power of late-Georgian theatre exists outside the bounds demarcated by legitimate and illegitimate drama.