Editing Restoration comedy (section)

===United Company, 1682–1695===
Both the quantity and quality of drama suffered in 1682 when the more successful Duke's Company absorbed the struggling King's Company to form the ''United Company''. Production of new plays dropped off sharply in the 1680s, affected by the monopoly and the political situation (see [[#Decline of comedy, 1678–90|Decline of comedy]] below). The influence and incomes of actors dropped too.<ref>Milhous, 38–48.</ref> In the late 1680s, predatory investors ("adventurers") converged on the United Company. Management was taken over by the lawyer [[Christopher Rich (theatre manager)|Christopher Rich]], who tried to finance a tangle of "farmed" shares and sleeping partners by slashing salaries and dangerously by abolishing traditional perks of senior performers, who were stars with the clout to fight back.<ref>Milhous, pp. 51–55.</ref>