29 May, 1592 - Harry VI

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

Henslowe writes: R at harey the vj the 17 25 of maye 1592 ... xxiiij^s

In modern English: Received at Harry VI, 29^th May, 1592 ... 24 shillings

1540s portrait of King
Henry VI

Today, Lord Strange's Men performed Harry VI again. This play was almost certainly Shakespeare's First Part of Henry VI; you can read more about it in the blog entry for 3rd March.

Lord Strange's Men continue to stage Harry VI about once a week. By this point, nearly three months after its premiere, the play is normally receiving rather weak box office and is being performed to a theatre that is less than half full. Yet the players still seem to have considered it worth their while to perform Harry VI more often than any other play in their repertory. I wonder why. Was it simply their personal favourite? Did they enjoy performing it more than the others?

• Friday, 3rd March - 75 shillings (premiere)
• Tuesday, 7th March - 60 shillings
• Saturday, 11th March - 47 shillings
• Thursday, 16th March - 31 shillings
• Tuesday, 28th March - 68 shillings (Easter Week)
• Wednesday, 5th April - 41 shillings
• Thursday, 13th April - 26 shillings
• Friday, 21st April - 33 shillings
• Thursday, 4th May - 56 shillings
• Tuesday, 9th May - 22 shillings
• Tuesday, 16th May - 50 shillings (Whitsuntide)
• Monday, 22nd May - 30 shillings
• Monday, 29th May - 24 shillings

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?

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