4 June, 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 June 1595 ... R at the wisman of weschester ... xxij^s 

In modern English: 4^th June, 1595 ... Received at Wise Man of West Chester ... 22 shillings

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

Today, the Admiral's Men returned to The Wise Man of West Chester, a lost play that 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, 1594.

The Wise Man of West Chester has dominated the Rose for a long time, but we are now seeing its box office shrinking to below average numbers. The audience must be finally tiring of the Wise Man, but it will be interesting to see how long it stays in the repertory after this.

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!