31 October, 1595 - The Seven Days of the Week

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  1595 ... R at the vij dayes ... xiij^s    

In modern English: [31^st] October, 1595 ... Received at The Seven Days ... 13 shillings

Today, the Admiral's Men revived their enigmatic lost play The Seven Days of the Week, about which we know nothing beyond its title. Perhaps it was an anthology of seven short plays, or perhaps it was about the creation of the world. You can read more about it in the entry for 3rd June.

19th-century Italian bracelet illustrating each of the seven days of
the week with a portrait of the deity associated with it.
From the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 

After a flurry of performances, the company has now waited two weeks to return The Seven Days of the Week to the stage. The audience is, however, now very small indeed. The play appears to be on its way out.

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, 1595 - Barnardo and Philametta

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 28 of octobȝ  1595 ... ne ... R at barnardo and phvlameta ... xxxxij^s 

In modern English: [30^th] October, 1595  ... New ... Received at Barnardo and Philametta ... 42 shillings

Portrait of a couple by an unknown French artist, c.1610

Today, the Admiral's Men presented a new play, and once again the play is now lost.

Sadly, we know nothing more about this play, as no known story features characters named Barnardo and Philametta (or indeed Fiametta, which Henslowe will record the name as in some subsequent entries).

Whatever this play was about it, its premiere was something of a disappointment, attracting an audience not much bigger than an average day at the Rose.

FURTHER READING

Barnardo and Philametta information

• Martin Wiggins, British Drama, 1533-1642: A Catalogue, vol. 3 (Oxford University Press, 2013), entry 1017.

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 October, 1595 - The Disguises

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 27 of octobȝ 1595 ... R at the desgyses ... xix^s 

In modern English: [29^th] October, 1595 ... Received at The Disguises ... 19 shillings

Lorenzo Lippi, Woman with a Mask
(The Allegory of Deception), 1650

Today, the company revived The Disguises, a lost play about... disguises. You can read more about it in the entry for 2 October.

After its disastrous last performance, the company has waited two and a half weeks to revive The Disguises. Today's performance has drawn a somewhat larger crowd, but is still not impressive. 

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!

28 October, 1595 - Vallia and Anthony

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 26 of octobȝ 1595 ...  R at valia & antony ... xxvij^s 

In modern English: [28^th] October, 1595 ... Received at Vallia and Anthony ... 27 shillings

Portrait of an unknown couple by Lavinia
Fontana (1580s)

Today, the Admiral's Men returned, after a long time, to the mysterious play of Vallia and Antony. This play is lost and we have no idea what it was about, since no known story has characters of these names in prominent roles. You can read more about it in the entry for 4 January, 1595.

Once again, the company has revived Vallia and Antony at a seemingly random point, nearly two months after its last performance. Their treatment of this play is baffling. It has, however, done a lot better than usual, with a solidly average 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!

27 October, 1595 - The First Part of Hercules

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 25 of octobȝ 1595 ... R at the j pt of herculos ... xxxij^s 

In modern English: [27^th] October, 1595 ... Received at The First Part of Hercules ... 32 shillings

Hercules fighting the Nemean Lion by
Francisco de Zurbarán (1634)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived The First Part of Hercules, which retold some of the legends of the Greek mythological strongman, perhaps focusing on his Twelve Labours. You can read more about this play in the entry for 7 May.

The company has waited two weeks to restage Hercules. Today's box office shows a slight improvement, but is still reflecting only a half-full theatre.

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!

25 October, 1595 - Crack Me This Nut

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 24 of octobȝ 1595 ... R at cracke me this nvtte ... xxiij shillings


In modern English: [25^th] October, 1595 ... Received at Crack Me This Nut ... 23 shillings

Dessert Still Life by Georg Flegel (1566-1638)

Today, the Admiral's Men returned to Crack Me This Nut. We know nothing about the content of this lost play, but you can read more about it in the entry for 5th September.

Amazingly, the company has performed Crack Me This Nut twice in one week, something they very rarely do. It has returned the same box office as last time, suggesting that the play has a small but faithful following.

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow because 26th October was a Sunday in 1595 and the players did no perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 27th for a week that will include a new play. 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!

24 October, 1595 - 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: y^e 23 of octobȝ 1595 ... R at the wonder of a womon ... xxiij^s 

In modern English: [24^th ] October, 1595 ... Received at The Wonder of a Woman ... 23 shillings.

Artemesia Gentileschi, Allegory of
Fame (early 1630s)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived The Wonder of a Woman, which they had premiered last week. You can read more about this lost play in the entry for 16 October.

For its second outing, The Wonder of a Woman has received extremely poor box office, suggesting that word of mouth was terrible. The company must be very disappointed.

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!