Here's what the
Admiral's Men performed at the
Rose playhouse on this day, 424 years ago...
Henslowe writes: ye 4 of octobȝ 1594 ... R at the love of a gresyan lady ... xxvjs
In modern English: [5th] October, 1594 ... Received at The Love of a Grecian Lady ... 26 shillings.
Today, the company staged a play that we have not encountered before. It appears to be an old play, because Henslowe does not refer to it as "ne"; perhaps it arrived at the Rose in company with those other old plays,
Tamburlaine and
Dr Faustus. But unlike those plays,
The Love of a Grecian Lady has aroused no nostalgic excitement, with a box office receipt below the Rose's average, and the play is now lost.
 |
The Love of Helen and Paris
by Jacques-Louis David (1789) |
What was it about? Probably a Greek lady fell in love; beyond that, we know nothing. However, in his catalogue of British drama, Martin Wiggins points out that Helen of Troy was commonly referred to a Grecian in the period. Could this be a comic tale set during the Trojan War?
The title of the play is puzzling. It is very reminiscent of
The Love of an English Lady, which premiered last week, so much so that one might wonder whether the two plays were a pair. But next time Henslowe lists it, he will call it
The Grecian Lady, and still later it will stabilize into
The Grecian Comedy, which would seem to pair it more closely with
The Venetian Comedy. The three plays might be connected in some way that we are no longer able to puzzle out.
Clearly, we don't know much about this play. But it is yet another sign that the Admiral's Men are introducing more comedy into their repertory, even if the project does not seem to be paying off.
What's next?
There will be no blog entry tomorrow, because 6 October was a Sunday in 1594, and the players did not perform.
Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will therefore return on the 8th for a week of old friends and one sad farewell. See you then!
FURTHER READING
The Grecian Comedy information
- Martin Wiggins, British Drama, 1533-1642: A Catalogue, vol. 2 (Oxford University Press, 2012), entry 785.
Henslowe links
Comments?
Did I make a mistake? Do you have a question? Have you anything to add? Please post a comment below!
