29 October, 1596 - The French Doctor

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 29 of octobȝ 1596 ... R at the frenshe docter ... xv^s 

In modern English: 29^th October, 1596 ... Received at The French Doctor ... 15 shillings

A French Physician
by Matthew Darly, 1771

Today, the Admiral's Men revived The French Doctor, a lost play that you can read more about in the entry for 19 October, 1594.

This is the first revival of The French Doctor sine the re-opening of the Rose, and as so often, it has returned very mediocre box office. The play is a curiosity, as it continues to be staged infrequently, despite its apparent unpopularity with audiences.

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow, because for some reason Henslowe records no performance. Neither will there be one the following day, because 31 October was a Sunday in 1596 and the players did not perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on 1 November - see you then!

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!