31 January, 1594 - Abraham and Lot

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

Henslowe writes: R at abrame & lotte the 31 of Jenewary 1593 ... xij^s 

In modern English: Received at Abraham and Lot, 31^st January, 1594 ... 12 shillings

Abraham and Lot going their separate ways,
by Wenceslas Hollar

Today, Sussex's Men returned Abraham and Lot to the Rose stage. This lost play retold stories from the Old Testament, perhaps including Abraham's rescue of Lot from the Elamites, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. You can read more about it in the entry for 9 January.

The company last performed Abraham and Lot two weeks ago, and this is its third outing. Its box office has been slowly plummeting, and today's returns were extremely poor. This is not a play that the Rose audience has any enthusiasm for.

What's next?

For some reason, there are no further performances recorded at the Rose until the 4th of February (a Monday). But before then, on the 3rd, we'll receive forewarning of a looming disaster for Sussex's Men. Stay tuned...

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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