12 February, 1595 - The Wise Man of West Chester

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 12 of febreary 1594 ... R at the wisman of weschester ... liij^s 

In modern English: 12^th February, 1595 ... Received at The Wise Man of West Chester ... 53 shillings

A man, who might possibly be
wise, carved on the choir
stalls of Chester Cathedral

Today, the Admiral's Men returned The Wise Man of West Chester to the stage. This lost play appears to have been about a wizard in the English city of Chester; you can read more about it in the entry for 3 December.

Wow, The Wise Man of West Chester really is a stonking success! Today's box office has dipped a little, but it still represents a huge crowd and is much higher than what other plays are achieving these days.

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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