Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog!: May Day

Showing posts with label May Day. Show all posts

Friday, 1 May 2020

1 May, 1596 - The Wonder of a Woman

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

Henslowe writes: maye daye 1596 ... R at wonder of a womon ... xxij^s

In modern English: May Day, 1596 ... Received at Wonder of a Woman ... 22 shillings

Artemesia Gentileschi, Allegory of
Fame (early 1630s)

Today was May Day, a public holiday! The Admiral's Men have chosen to celebrate with The Wonder of a Woman, a lost play that you can read more about in the entry for 16 October.

This is a big disappointment for the company. The May Day holiday usually brings floods of theatregoers into the Rose, but today only a paltry crowd has shown up for The Wonder of a Woman. Whether this is due to bad weather or the unpopularity of the play, Henslowe must be frustrated.

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow because 2nd May was a Sunday in 1596 and the players did not perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 3rd May for a week that will include a new(ish) play. See you then!

Henslowe links

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Wednesday, 1 May 2019

1 May, 1595 - Long Meg of Westminster

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 1 of maye 1595 ... R at longe mege ... l^s

In modern English: 1^st May, 1595 ... Received at Long Meg ... 50 shillings

Long Meg, from
a 1750 edition
of the jest-book

Today was May Day, a public holiday! With Londoners back in a festive mood after Easter, the Admiral's Men have returned to Long Meg of Westminster, their play about the Amazonian warrior woman of London legend. You can read more about this play in the entry for 14 February.

Long Meg has not been as successful as its fun premise might have suggested, but the boost of the May Day holiday has rewarded it with a large audience today.

Henslowe links

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Sunday, 1 May 2016

1 May, 1592 - Muly Molocco

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

Henslowe writes: R at mvlo mvlluco the 30 of ap^rell 15912 ... lviij^s

In modern English: Received at Muly Molocco, 1^st May, 1592 ... 58 shillings

Henslowe wrote 30th April for this entry, but this was most likely an error, because that day was a Sunday. Indeed, we're now entering a portion of the diary that is full of mistakes and corrections, as Henslowe got himself into a muddle while entering the data.

But if it's not 30th April today, that means it must be May Day! This must have been exciting for the company, as May Day was a public holiday and Londoners would be in a festive mood.

1629 Portuguese illustration of the Battle of Alcazar

And what better way to celebrate the coming of summer than to go to the Rose playhouse and watch a play about Moroccans bashing each other? Well, that's what Lord Strange's Men seem to have thought, since they revived Muly Molocco again, even though they had last performed it only four days ago. (This play was about Abd el-Malik's struggle for the throne of Morocco; you can read more about it in the blog entry for 21st February.)

The company's choice was clearly a good one, as Muly Molocco received very strong box office, more than twice what it normally made. I expect Henslowe went out and danced around a maypole to celebrate.

Monday, 21st February - 29 shillings
Tuesday, 29th February - 34 shillings
Friday, 17th March - 29 shillings
Wednesday, 29th March - 62 shillings
Saturday, 8th April - 23 shillings
Monday, 17th April - 30 shillings
Thursday, 27th April, 26 shillings
Monday, 1st May, 58 shillings

Henslowe links

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Did I make a mistake? Do you have a question? Have you anything to add? Please post a comment below!