22 June, 1594 - Belin Dun

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 20 of June 1594 ... R at bellendon ... xxx^s

In modern English: 22^nd June, 1594 ... Received at Belin Dun ... 30 shillings.

A highwayman portrayed in Richard

Head's The English Rogue (1666)

Today, the Admiral's Men performed Belin Dun, their lost play about the notorious robber who terrorized the Dunstable area during the reign of King Henry I; you can read more about this play in the entry for 10 June.

Belin Dun was still a relatively new play, and the previous performance had drawn a huge crowd to the Rose just four days ago. The company was clearly hoping they had a new blockbuster on their hands, but today's receipts were merely average for the Rose, showing a swift decline in interest.

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow because 23 June was a Sunday in 1594 and the players did not perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on 24 June for a week that will include one new play among the familiar ones.

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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