24 June, 1595 - The French Comedy

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 24 of June mydsomerdaye ...  R at the frenshecomodeye ... xxx^s 

In modern English: 24^th June, Midsummer's Day ... Received at The French Comedy ... 30 shillings.

French commedia dell'arte performers,
from a 17th-century engraving by Jacques Callot

Today was Midsummer's Day, a public holiday and a time of late-night bonfires and celebration! On this day, the Admiral's Men chose to perform, for the last time, The French Comedy, a lost play about which we know almost nothing. You can read more about it in the entry for February 11.  

The French Comedy is one of those plays that the company has never performed at frequent intervals, and has never done particularly well. Today, on a public holiday, it has filled only half the theatre, which is not impressive at all. Perhaps this was the final nail in its coffin, as this is its last recorded performance in Henslowe's Diary.

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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17 June, 1595 - The French Comedy

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 17 of June 1595 .....  R at the frenshe comodey ... xxj^s 

In modern English: 17^th June, 1595 ... Received at The French Comedy ... 21 shillings.

French commedia dell'arte performers,
from a 17th-century engraving by Jacques Callot

Today, the Admiral's Men returned to The French Comedy, a lost play about which we know almost nothing. You can read more about it in the entry for February 11.  

The company continues to perform this play infrequently, this time waiting over a fortnight to revive it. The box office is a bit better than last time, but one cannot help but continue to suspect that The French Comedy wasn't all that funny.

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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31 May, 1595 - The French Comedy

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 31 of maye 1595 ... ^pd ....  R at the frenshe comodye ... xv^s 

In modern English: 31^st May, 1595 ... Received at The French Comedy ... 15 shillings.

French commedia dell'arte performers,
from a 17th-century engraving by Jacques Callot

Today, the Admiral's Men returned to The French Comedy, a lost play about which we know almost nothing. You can read more about it in the entry for February 11.  

The company has not performed this play for three weeks, despite it being relatively new. They don't seem to be making a concerted effort to make it a major part of their repertory, and today's dismal box office suggests why.

What's next?

There will be no blog entries for the next two days: 1st June was a Sunday in 1595 so the players did not perform, and but for unknown reasons there is no entry for 2nd June either. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 3rd, for a week that will include a new play among the old favourites.

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!

12 May, 1595 - The French Comedy

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 12 of maye 1595 ... R at the frenshe comodey ... xxviij^s 

In modern English: 12^th May, 1595 ... Received at The French Comedy ... 27 shillings.

French commedia dell'arte performers,
from a 17th-century engraving by Jacques Callot

Today, the Admiral's Men returned to The French Comedy, a lost play about which we know almost nothing. You can read more about this play in the entry for February 11.  

The company premiered The French Comedy back in January and it had been moderately succesful, but this is still only its third performance. They may be attempting to place it more firmly within their repertory, but its box office today is merely average, making it ambiguous whether the attempt is likely to succeed.

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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27 February, 1595 - The French Comedy

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 27 of febreary 1594 ... R at the frenshe Comodey ... xxxx^s 

In modern English: 27^th February, 1595 ... Received at The French Comedy ... 40 shillings.

French commedia dell'arte performers,
from a 17th-century engraving by Jacques Callot

Today, the Admiral's Men returned to The French Comedy, a lost play about which we know almost nothing. You can read more about this play in the entry for February 11.  

The company premiered The French Comedy two weeks ago and have only now brought it back for its second performance. As with the premiere, the box office is good but not spectacular; the play is not a disaster, but not setting the theatre scene alight either.

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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11 February, 1595 - The French Comedy

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 11 of febreary 1594 ... ne ... R at the frenshe Comodey ... l^s 

In modern English: 11^th February, 1595 ... New ... Received at The French Comedy ... 50 shillings.

Today, the Admiral's Men premiered a new play! Unfortunately, it is yet another play that has been lost to the vicissitudes of time, and its title is so generic that we know nothing about it - except, of course, that was a comedy set in France.

French commedia dell'arte performers,
from a 17th-century engraving by Jacques Callot

Elizabethans enjoyed making fun of the French, but it is impossible to speculate on what, if anything, the audience laughed at in this play. All we can say is that The French Comedy earned 50 shillings today, which suggests a large crowd, but not as big as one might normally expect at a premiere.

FURTHER READING

The French Comedy information

• Martin Wiggins, British Drama, 1533-1642: A Catalogue, vol. 3 (Oxford University Press, 2013), entry 989.

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!