This article will explore in mostly chronological order the financial escapades of the theater in England during the 17th century. During the reign of James I and Charles I the theater flourished gaining much of the support of the nobility. During the Reformation, the theater could not thrive without the support that everyone was too scared to provide. After the Restoration of the monarchy, the nobility tried a different approach to running the theaters by giving a monopoly to William Davenant and Thomas Killigrew. Most of the responsibility for raising funds fell on what the managers could scrape together from spectators' pockets. Specific managers were established to look after the welfare of the theatre, rather than a noble patron. Money and support still came from the monarchy, but not as much as before the Reformation. When William III inherited the throne, the theater was left to fend for itself and changed hands many times until the end of the century. In 1603, public acting troupes came under the direct control of the monarchy when James I ascended the throne. James inherited many financial problems and left England with a debt of over £400,000 when he died. James immediately became a patron of the theater when he came to power. The Lord Chamberlain's men became the King's men, and the Admiral's company became Prince Henry's men. Increased social status gave actors the right to call themselves gentlemen. The rest of society tolerated this social change somewhat, but among them did not recognize the actors' status as gentlemen. At the beginning of the century, in 1608, the theaters were closed for a year due to the plague. The actors of the two companies were paid the same as unskilled ones...... middle of paper......t & Co., 1879. TheatreDatabase.com. Network. November 19, 2011.Boswell, Eleanore B. The Restoration Court Stage, 1660-1702, with a special account of the production of Calisto. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1966. PrintEdwards, Philip. A Nation's Threshold: A Study of English and Irish Drama. London: Cambridge University Press, 1979. Print.Gurr, Andrew. The Shakespeare Company, 1594-1642. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print.McLean, Ralph. "James VI and I and his patronage of the arts". Britain in print. Network. November 20, 2011. Owen, Susan J. A Companion to Restoration Drama. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2008. PrintWilson, John H. A Preface to the Drama of the Restoration. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965. Print.