Charles Fleetwood (theatre manager)

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Charles Fleetwood (d. 1745) was an English gentleman with an interest in theatre. He eventually became the manager of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in partnership with Colley Cibber and, sometime later, Charles Macklin.

During Fleetwood's tenure at Drury Lane, he introduced a number of reforms including the abolition of the Footman's Gallery. This gallery was provided for the servants and lackeys of the ladies and gentlemen in the audience and generally it was noisy and disorderly. When this gallery was abolished in 1737, riots broke out in the theatre.

Fleetwood's management was artistically noteworthy but a financial disaster due to his gambling. Among two of his most notable moments at Drury Lane are Macklin's portrayal of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and bringing in David Garrick after his first season at the Goodman's Fields Theatre. Fleetwood sold his share of the theatre's patent in 1744 to David Garrick and died a year later.