What is the name of the theatrical manager in Nicholas Nickleby?

The theatrical manager in Nicholas Nickleby is Vincent Crummles.

Crummles leads the travelling Crummles theatrical troupe, a colourful company that performs plays in provincial towns. After Nicholas Nickleby leaves the Yorkshire school Dotheboys Hall with the abused Smike, the pair meet Crummles at an inn. The manager offers them work, giving Nicholas an unexpected opportunity to earn a living on the stage.

Vincent Crummles is both an actor-manager and an impresario: he runs the company, arranges performances, manages its finances and promotes its performers. Dickens uses him to satirise the theatrical world, with its exaggerated personalities, melodramatic acting and commercial pressures. The troupe includes Mrs Crummles, Miss Ninetta Crummles—known as the “Infant Phenomenon”—and the leading lady Miss Snevellicci.

A common mix-up is confusing Crummles with the other theatrical figures and employers in the novel. Mr Mantalini is a flamboyant ladies’ tailor, while Wackford Squeers runs Dotheboys Hall. Crummles eventually takes his family and troupe to America, continuing his pursuit of theatrical success.