Thomas Dekker, in his satirical pamphlet 'The Ravens Almanac,' rails against the players of London as a 'generation of Apes without tails.' He accuses them of ingratitude towards playwrights, and warns that those lucky enough to escape the plague 'shall be glad to play three houres for two pence to the basest stinkard in London, whose breath is stronger then Garlicke, and able to poison all the 12. penny roomes.'