9 July, 1594 - Philippo and Hippolito

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 9 of Julye 1594 ... ne ... R at the phillipo & hewpolyto ... iij^ll ij^s

In modern English: 9^th July, 1594 ... New ... Received at The Philippo and Hippolito ... £3 and 2 shillings

Last week, the Admiral's Men played it safe by cycling through their existing repertory. But today, they premiered a new play.

Two Young Men by Crispin van den Broeck, c.1590

Sadly, Philippo and Hippolito is a lost play and we know nothing at all about it. The title offers no clues except that it was clearly about two men of that name. What those two men got up to, and whether their adventures were funny or tragic, we will never know.

But whatever took place on stage, the premiere of Philippo and Hippolito was a great success. As was typical of debut performances, the theatre was packed and the players filled their coffers.

FURTHER READING

Philippo and Hippolito information

• Roslyn L. Knutson, "Philipo and Hippolito", Lost Plays Database (2010). 
• Martin Wiggins, British Drama, 1533-1642: A Catalogue, vol. 3 (Oxford University Press, 2013), entry 959.

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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