31 May, 1595 - The French Comedy

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 31 of maye 1595 ... ^pd ....  R at the frenshe comodye ... xv^s 

In modern English: 31^st May, 1595 ... Received at The French Comedy ... 15 shillings.

French commedia dell'arte performers,
from a 17th-century engraving by Jacques Callot

Today, the Admiral's Men returned to The French Comedy, a lost play about which we know almost nothing. You can read more about it in the entry for February 11.  

The company has not performed this play for three weeks, despite it being relatively new. They don't seem to be making a concerted effort to make it a major part of their repertory, and today's dismal box office suggests why.

What's next?

There will be no blog entries for the next two days: 1st June was a Sunday in 1595 so the players did not perform, and but for unknown reasons there is no entry for 2nd June either. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 3rd, for a week that will include a new play among the old favourites.

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?

Did I make a mistake? Do you have a question? Have you anything to add? Please post a comment below!