In 1738, she was granted the unusual privilege of a license to run Punch's Theatre at St. James's. This was a puppet theatre, and she used her wooden cast to perform a number of satirical plays. Many of the stringed figures were caricatured after current politicians and actors, including, of course, her father Colley. Her puppet shows were popular; nor could the government shut them down, as, technically, no human actors appeared onstage at Punch's. She decided to take her theatre on tour throughout the rest of the nation, but, while travelling, she fell seriously ill, likely with nervous exhaustion. Medical bills, according to her autobiography, cost her the theatre, and she was obliged to sell her puppets at a serious loss. She sent young Catherine off with begging notes to her friends and relatives, but no one in her family was willing or able to help her monetarily. Her father in particular was furious with her for the actors' rebellion at Drury Lane and her unflattering impression of him in "Pasquin" under his old enemy Fielding.