10 March, 1592 - The Jew of Malta

Here's what Lord Strange's Men performed at the Rose playhouse on this day, 424 years ago...

Henslowe writes: R at the Jewe of malta the 10 of marche 1591 ... lvj^s 

In modern English: Received at The Jew of Malta, 10^th March 1592 ... 56 shillings

Caravaggio's portrait of the Grand
Master of the Knights of Malta,
1607-8.

Today, Lord Strange's Men performed their satirical comic tragedy The Jew of Malta again. They had last performed this play just under a fortnight ago, receiving very strong box office returns. On this outing, the play was even more successful, making 6 shillings more. You can read more about The Jew of Malta in the blog entry for 26th February.

While we're here, this is a good moment to pause and reflect on the amazing lifestyle of these actors. Since February 19th, they have performed fifteen different plays over eighteen days. Their memory skills, their focus onstage, and their work ethic must have been phenomenal.

This blog has just crossed a line: from now on, the majority of posts will be short entries like this one about plays already described. However, you can still expect at least one or two lengthy descriptions of new plays every week, so do stay tuned!

Henslowe links

• Transcript of this page of the Diary (from W.W. Greg's 1904 edition)
• Facsimile of this page of the Diary (from the Henslowe-Alleyn Digitisation Project)

Comments?

Did I make a mistake? Do you have a question? Have you anything to add? Please post a comment below!