20 January, 1593 - Muly Molocco

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

Henslowe writes: R at mvlomvlco the 20 of Jenewarye 1593 ... xx^s
  
In modern English: Received at Muly Molocco, 20^th January, 1593 ... 20 shillings 

1629 Portuguese illustration of the Battle of Alcazar

Today, Lord Strange's Men revived again their frequently-performed play Muly Molocco. This play was about Abd el-Malik's struggle for the throne of Morocco; you can read more about it in the blog entry for 21st February 1592.

So far, the company has revived Muly Molocco three times this season, more than any other play. But although its initial performance on the company's first day at the theatre had drawn a huge audience, the subsequent performances have been disappointing, both of them earning only 20 shillings. Muly Molocco is becoming a reliably underachieving play.

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow, because 21st January was a Sunday in 1593 and the players did not perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on 23rd January for a week that will include a new play that has actually survived to the present day!

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!