20 May, 1595 - The First Part of Hercules

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 20 of maye 1595 ... R at hercolas ... iij^ll ix^s

In modern English: 20^th May, 1595 ... Received at Hercules ... £3 and 9 shillings

Today, the Admiral's Men revived The First Part of Hercules, which retold some of the legends of the Greek mythological strongman. You can read more about this play in the entry for 7 May..

Hercules fighting the Nemean Lion by
Francisco de Zurbarán (1634)

The is the first revival of The First Part of Hercules after the company premiered it a week-and-a-half ago. And the company must be thrilled, because the revival has packed the Rose playhouse for a second time; it is very rare for a play to fill the theatre twice in a row.

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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