The Restoration of the seventeenth century attempted to ease some of the dominant puritan ideas, and allow a reemergence of the theatre in London. Toward the end of the century, the young aristocratic audience responded to the satirical plays that poked fun at themselves. This style of theatre excluded other populations, and caused attendence to dwindle at the theatre (Theatre 541).

The dawn of the eighteenth century ushered in the age of the middle-class theatre. Many of the aristocrats were unable to continually support their lavish lifestyles while the middle-class merchants were becoming more prosperous. The middle-class, with their new money, desired to attend the theatre, but found that the dramas were catered to the aristocrats of the seventeenth century. Instead of formalities and subtelness the middle-class wanted their senses to be aroused (Theatre 541).

The eighteenth century began with only three playhouses in use: Drury Lane, Lincoln's Inn Fields and Dorset Garden (Styan 274). Dorset Garden was opened in 1671, but closed in 1709 due to management complications. Drury Lane opened in 1674 and is still open today. It was the example to which other theatres modeled after because of excellent acoustics and design. Lincoln's Inn Fields was open from 1661 to 1708 when it was closed due to the opening of the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket. In 1714 John Rich reopened the theatre which is still open today. By 1732, five playhouses were open to the public. The Queen's Theatre, which was opened in 1705, served mainly as an opera house. The Little Haymarket Theatre, opened in 1720, was a small unlicensed house that specialized in experimental theatre, and was home to many of Henry Fielding's plays. Goodman's Fields was opened in 1729 and was also without a license (Styan 275).

Theatre attendence was flourishing by the eighteenth century partly due to the new spectacle: pantomime. This style is traced to the Italian actors who would perform in London using theatrical spectacles such as song, dance, acrobatics and a farce along with the play. This new excitement on the stage aroused the audiences and drew large numbers to the smaller unlicensed playhouses. John Rich took pantomime and made it his own by omitting any words and using exagerated gestures to entertain. The public loved the clowning, but theatres such as Drury Lane and Lincoln's Inn Fields felt as if pantomime was "much beneath the dignity of theatre" (Clunes 91).

Playwrights used burlesque to poke fun at the theatre and actors by using the newly popular panomime. The small, minor theatres provided a venue for plays such as Henry Fielding's Tom Thumb. These silly satirical plays didn't raise any eyebrows until Fielding moved his satire from theatrical to political. He wrote The Historical Register of 1736 which poked fun of the Prime Minister Walpole. He reacted by proposing the Licensing Act of 1737 and snatching the theatre's freedom (Nicoll 124).

Fielding moved on and later focused his energy on writing novels. The minor theatres continued to perform by using an early form of the nineteenth century burletta. They used song and words to produce skits that told humorous stories (Nicoll 125).