13 December, 1594 - A Knack to Know an Honest Man

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 13 of desembȝ 1594 ... R at the Knacke ... xij^s

In modern English: 13^th December, 1594 ... Received at The Knack ... 12 shillings

Two  Young Venetian Men (anon., 1515)

Today, the Admiral's Men revived A Knack to Know an Honest Man, their comical moral romance set in Venice. You can read more about this play in the entry for 23rd October.

The company last performed this play over two weeks ago. Its box office is not impressive today; as with all of the performances this week, the poor attendance is likely caused by the season of Advent discouraging Londoners from frivolities like theatre. Attending a moralistic play like A Knack to Know an Honest Man might serve only to make them feel more guilty...

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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