27 September, 1595 - Doctor Faustus

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 26 of septmbȝ 1595 ... R at docter fostes ... xiij

In modern English: [27^th] September, 1595 ... Received at Doctor Faustus ... 13 shillings

Faustus summoning Mephistopheles: from the
1616 text of the play 

Today, the Admiral's Men returned to Christopher Marlowe's famous tragedy Dr Faustus, in which a scholar summons a demon and sells his soul to the devil. You can read more about this play in the entry for 2 October.

The company has waited a fortnight to restage Dr Faustus. After some signs of renewed enthusiasm last time, the theatre today is nearly empty. The players may need to make a pact with the devil to rejuvenate this old play.

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow because 28 September was a Sunday in 1595 and the players did not perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 29th for a week that will include a new play!

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!