23 June, 1596 - The Jew of Malta

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 21 of June 1596 ... R at the Jew of malta ... xiij^s  

In modern English: [23^rd] June, 1596 ... Received at The Jew of Malta ... 13 shillings

Caravaggio's portrait of the Grand

Master of the Knights of Malta,

1607-8.

Today is a sad day! This is the very last appearance in Henslowe's box office records of The Jew of Malta, Christopher Marlowe's satirical comic tragedy. You can read more about this play in the blog entry for 26th February 1592.

This is the 36th performance of The Jew of Malta recorded in the Diary, making it the most frequently-staged play. We first saw it back in February, 1592, when it was already an old play. During the first year of performances recorded by Henslowe, it almost always achieved box office well above the average and was thus the most consistently popular play.

Over the following years, audiences have gradually shrunk and The Jew of Malta no longer seems to excite London's theatregoers. The company seems to have decided that they will not be able to recapture that magic without a very long hiatus.

This is not the end of The Jew of Malta, however. The play will remain in the repertory of the Admiral's Men, and in 1601 Henslowe will record them buying properties for a revival at their new theatre, the Fortune. As late as the 1630s, the play will be performed to King Charles I at Whitehall. And it is still being revived even today.

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!