26 December, 1595 - The Wonder of a Woman

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 25 of desembȝ 1595 ^{S steuens day} ... R at the wonder of a womon ... iij^ll ij^s 

In modern English: [26^th] December, 1595, St Stephen's Day ... Received at The Wonder of a Woman ... £3 and 2 shillings

Artemesia Gentileschi, Allegory of
Fame (early 1630s)

Merry Christmas! In Elizabethan England, today was St Stephen's Day, or the second day of Christmas (the equivalent of our Boxing Day). It was a time for feasting and the giving of presents, but it was also a time for theatre, as the Rose has opened its doors to Londoners on this festive day.

The Admiral's Men have chosen to perform The Wonder of a Woman, a lost play that you can read more about in the entry for 16 October. This play has been doing very poorly at the box office of late, but not today: on this festive occasion, the theatre is packed, regardless of the quality of the production.

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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