4 February, 1595 - The Wise Man of West Chester

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 4 of febreary 1594 ... R at the wysman of weschester ... iij^ll iiij^s 

In modern English: 4^th February, 1595 ... Received at The Wise Man of West Chester ... £3 and 4 shillings

A man, who might possibly be
wise, carved on the choir
stalls of Chester Cathedral

Today, the Admiral's Men returned The Wise Man of West Chester to the stage. This lost play appears to have been about a wizard in the English city of Chester; you can read more about it in the entry for 3 December.

Inconceivable! The Wise Man of West Chester has yet again drawn an enormous crowd to the Rose. That's four in a row! This never happens! The play is officially a mega-hit. It is a real shame that the text has not survived, because it would be fascinating to know why Londoners loved it so much.

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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