3 November, 1596 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 3 of novmbȝ 1596 ... R at the cnacke to knowe ... xv^s

In modern English: 3^rd November, 1596 ... Received at The Knack to Know ... 15 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, for the last time that we know of, the Admiral's Men performed A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October, 1594.

This performance of A Knack to Know an Honest Man marks its first appearance since April. But it's also its last recorded performance. The play premiered two years ago, in October 1594, and for a time it was unusually popular until, like all plays at the Rose, its box office eventually dwindled. 

The company has had a strange relationship with The Knack of late, often ignoring it for months before returning to it for isolated one-off performances (in a similar manner to The French Doctor, which we noted a few days ago). As with most of these performances, the unimpressive box office shows no particular excitement from the audience, and it seems that after today, the company will finally abandon this venerable comedy. Farewell!

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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16 April, 1596 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 16 of ap^rell 1596 ... R at the knacke ... xj^s

In modern English: 16^th April, 1596 ... Received at The Knack ... 11 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men chose to revive A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October, 1594.

How strange. The company performed this once-popular play in September, ignored it until January, and have then ignored it again until now. These extremely infrequent performances seem to have no effect on box office, and today's is quite dreadful, especially for a holiday week. If there is a strategy here, it's not a very good one.

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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7 January, 1596 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 7 of Jenewary ... R at a knack to know & onest man ... xx^s

In modern English: 7^th January, [1596] ... Received at A Knack to Know an Honest Man ... 20 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men chose to revive A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October, 1594.

Here is a blast from the past! The players have been ignoring this once-popular comedy since September, but they are now experimenting with bringing it back. The box office is not very encouraging, however.

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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18 September, 1595 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 18 of septmbȝ 1595 ... R at the knacke ... xvij^s

In modern English: 18^th September, 1595 ... Received at The Knack ... 17 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men chose to revive A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October, 1594.

The company opened their latest season with this play two and a half weeks ago, but they have not performed it again until now, and it received exactly the same (fairly meagre) box office as last time. The Knack is not the crowd-pleaser that it once was.

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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25 August, 1595 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 25 of aguste 1595 ... R at the knacke to know a nonest man ... xvij^s

In modern English: 25^th August, 1595 ... Received at The Knack to Know an Honest Man ... 17 shillings

Hello and welcome back to another series of entries from Henslowe's Diary!

After a few months away for the summer, perhaps caused by London's summer of public unrest, the Admiral's Men have returned to the Rose playhouse to begin yet another season of drama; this one will last until the end of February.

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

The company has chosen to begin their new season with A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October, 1594.

But the actors must be disappointed. They may have been expecting Londoners to flood to the re-opened theatre, delighted to see their much-loved plays returning. Instead, today's box office indicates a mostly empty theatre.

What went wrong? Was the weather bad (too hot, too rainy?), or were London's theatregoers insufficiently excited by the much-revived Knack? Either way, the Admiral's Men may feel a little deflated. They will need to bring out some more popular plays in the future.

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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21 June, 1595 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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 ... R at the knacke ... xiij^s

In modern English: 21^st June ... Received at The Knack ... 13 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October, 1594.

The company last performed this play two weeks ago during the Whitsuntide holiday, when it had been a great success, but today, on a more normal day, the crowd is tiny.

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow, because 22 June was a Sunday in 1595 and the players did not perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 23rd for a week that will end prematurely when the riots ongoing in London will finally have an effect upon Henslowe's work. .

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!

9 June, 1595 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 9 of June 1595 ... ^{whitsun daie ll} ... R at the knacke ... lv^s

In modern English: 9^th June, 1595 ... Whitsunday ...Received at The Knack ... 55 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today was the first day of Whitsuntide, the annual multi-day holiday celebrating the beginning of summer! Londoners had time off and were in a festive mood, so for the Admiral's Men there is the chance of bigger and livelier audiences.

The actors chose today to revive A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October, 1594.

The company has not performed this play for over a month, but the holiday has brought a large crowd to the Rose, giving a much-needed burst of energy to this aging comedy.
.

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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5 May, 1595 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 5 of maye 1595 ... R at the knacke ... xxiij^s

In modern English: 5^th May, 1595 ... Received at The Knack ... 23 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men have revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October, 1594.

The company last performed this play two weeks ago during Easter Week, when the holidays crowds produced a large audience. Today's is smaller, reflecting the relative lack of interest in this play during a normal week.
.

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!

22 April, 1595 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 23 of ap^rell 1595 ... R at the knacke ... lv^s

In modern English: [22^nd] April, 1595 ... Received at The Knack ... 55 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, as the festivities of Easter Week continue, the Admiral's Men have revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October.

The holiday season has enabled a large crowd of Londoners to attend the Rose for this suitably moralistic tale.
.

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!

10 March, 1595 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 10 of marche 1594 ... R at the knacke ^{frome hence lycensed} ... xxiiij^s

In modern English: 10^th March, 1595 ... Received at The Knack, from hence licensed ... 24 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, after a mysterious 4-day hiatus, the Admiral's Men revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October.

Today's entry includes an enigmatic note "from hence licensed"; it is not clear whether this refers to the play or the theatre.

Either way, A Knack to Know an Honest Man has returned exactly the same box office three performances in a row - at least it's consistent.

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!

26 February, 1595 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 26 of febreary 1594 ... R at the knacke ... xxiiij^s

In modern English: 26^th February, 1595 ... Received at The Knack ... 24 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October.

Again the company has waited three weeks to revive A Knack to Know an Honest Man - and it has returned exactly the same box office.

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!

6 February, 1595 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 6 of febreary 1594 ... R at the knacke ... xxiiij^s

In modern English: 6^th February, 1595 ... Received at The Knack ... 24 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October.

For a long while this has been one of the company's more frequently-performed plays, but his time they have waited 3 and a half weeks before reviving it. The results are not encouraging, as absence does not appear to have made the audience's hearts grow fonder.

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!

13 January, 1595 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 13 of Jenewary 15945 ... R at the knacke ... xxxiij^s

In modern English: 13^th January, 1595 ... Received at The Knack ... 33 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October.

The company has waited less than a week before bringing back A Knack to Know a Knave, and its box office, while only average for the Rose, is much better than it has seen for a while. There is still life in this play.

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!

7 January, 1595 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 7 of Jenewary 1595 ... R at the knacke ... xxij^s

In modern English: 7^th January, 1595 ... Received at The Knack ... 22 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October.

The company last performed this play over two weeks ago, during the lean times of Advent. It was more successful today, albeit nothing to write home about. The Rose audiences are returning to normality after the extremes of December.

What's next?

For some reason, Henslowe records no performance tomorrow. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 9th - 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!

13 December, 1594 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 13 of desembȝ 1594 ... R at the Knacke ... xij^s

In modern English: 13^th December, 1594 ... Received at The Knack ... 12 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October.

The company last performed this play over two weeks ago. Its box office is not impressive today; as with all of the performances this week, the poor attendance is likely caused by the season of Advent discouraging Londoners from frivolities like theatre. Attending a moralistic play like A Knack to Know an Honest Man might serve only to make them feel more guilty...

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!

29 November, 1594 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 29 of novmbȝ 1594 ... R at the knacke ... xx^s

In modern English: 29^th November, 1594 ... Received at The Knack ... 20 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October.

The company last performed A Knack to Know an Honest Man only a week ago, but it now seems to be plateauing at a rather unimpressive level. 

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!

21 November, 1594 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 21 of novmbȝ 1594 ... R at the knacke ... xx^s

In modern English: 21^st November, 1594 ... Received at The Knack ... 20 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October.

A Knack to Know an Honest Man has been doing extremely well of late, bringing in surprisingly large crowds a fortnight ago. However, today was disappointing with a less than half-full theatre. Perhaps the play has peaked.

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!

7 November, 1594 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 7 of novembȝ 1594 ... R at the knacke ... xxxxiiij^s

In modern English: 7^th November, 1594 ... Received at The Knack ... 44 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October.

A Knack to Know an Honest Man continues to buck expectations with very impressive box office. The company has performed it four times in only two-and-a-half weeks, suggesting that they see it as a major money-earner.

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!

1 November, 1594 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 1 of novembȝ 1594 ... R at the knacke to know & onest man  ... iij^ll iij^s

In modern English: 1^st November, 1594 ... Received at The Knack to Know an Honest Man ... £3 and 3 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October.

What a surprise! We suddenly have an unexpected hit on our hands! A Knack to Know an Honest Man received a very disappointing premiere a week and a half ago, but its second performance was unexpectedly better. And today's performance has resulted in a full house!

The likely reason is that today was All Saints' Day, a public holiday that would have enabled more Londoners than usual to attend the theatre. Even so, this is an impressive turnaround for the Knack.

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!

30 October, 1594 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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 1594 ... R at the knacke to know & oneste man  ... xxxxvij^s

In modern English: [30^th] October, 1594 ... Received at The Knack to Know an Honest Man ... 47 shillings.

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October.

This is the second performance of A Knack to Know an Honest Man. The premiere had received a disappointingly small audience, but things are looking up: today's follow-up performance attracted more people than the first! That almost never happens, and suggests that word of mouth may have been spreading.

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!