24 June, 1594 - The Ranger's Comedy

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 22 of June 1594 ... R at the Rangers comodey ... lviiij^s

In modern English: 24^th June, 1594 ... Received at The Ranger's Comedy ... 59 shillings.

An Elizabethan hunting scene, perhaps
illustrating the subject of this play

Today was Midsummer Day, a holiday to celebrate the solstice. For this festive day, the Admiral's Men revived their lost play The Ranger's Comedy. We do not know its subject, as the word "ranger" could refer to a gamekeeper, a rake, a wanderer, or an organizer of troops. You can read more about it in the entry for 2 April.

The Ranger's Comedy was last performed at the Rose only four days ago, and it had then produced only average box office. But today, it was twice as successful, producing an almost full theatre. This change in fortune probably has nothing to do with the play itself, though, and more to do with a greater number of people having time off to go to the 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)

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