25 April, 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 26 of ap^rell 1595 ... R at the wisseman of west chester ... iij^ll 

In modern English: [25^th] April, 1595 ... Received at The Wise Man of West Chester ... 
£3

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

What a surprise! Today, the Admiral's Men have done something very unusual: they have performed the same play that they staged yesterday. In a modern theatre, there would be nothing strange about that. But in the Elizabethan theatre, which thrives on variety, it is very rare for the same play to be performed two days in a row.

The play in question is The Wise Man of West Chester, a lost play that 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. This play has already proved itself one of the most popular ever recorded in Henslowe's Diary, and today's surprising revival demonstrates its exceptional status - it made even more money today than it did yesterday.

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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