15 May, 1594 - The Ranger's Comedy

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

Henslowe writes: R at the Rangers comodey the 15 of maye 1594 ... xxxiij^s

In modern English: Received at The Ranger's Comedy, 15^th May, 1594 ... 33 shillings

An Elizabethan hunting scene: one of the
possible subjects of today's play

Today, the Admiral's Men revived a lost play called The Ranger's Comedy. We do not know what this play was about, as the word "ranger" could refer to many things, including a gamekeeper, a rake, a wanderer, or an organizer of troops. You can read more about it in the entry for 2 April.

The Ranger's Comedy had last been performed at the Rose a month ago, by Sussex's Men and the Queen's Men, when it had produced an almost full house. Today, its receipts were more modest, representing a theatre only half full.

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)

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