22 November, 1594 - Diocletian

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 22 of novmbȝ 1594 ... R at deoclesyan ... xxxxiij^s 

In modern English: 22^nd November, 1594 ... Received at Diocletian ... 43 shillings.

Head of Diocletian in the
Istanbul Archaeological Museum

Today, the Admiral's Men revived, but also said goodbye to, Diocletian, which told the rags-to-riches story of the Christian-persecuting Roman emperor. You can read more about this play in the entry for 16 November.

Surprisingly enough, this is the last performance of Diocletian after its premiere less than a week ago. The box office for its premiere had been disappointing but not catastrophically so, and today's performance was entirely respectable for a second staging. It is thus puzzling that the players decided to abandon this play. But that is what they have done, and they must have had their reasons.

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!