19 February, 1596 - Olympio and Eugenio

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 18 of febreary 1595 ... R at  olempeo ... x^s 

In modern English: 19^th February, 1595 ... Received at Olympio ... 10 shillings

Portrait of Two Friends by Pontormo (1524)

Today, the Admiral's Men performed their play Olympio and Eugenio, which may or may not have been the same play as Seleo and Olympo (you can learn more about them in the entry for 4 September).

Sometimes the Admiral's Men behave very oddly. This is the first time Olympio and Eugenio has been performed since late November, and that performance had been the first in six weeks. The November performance had resulted in one of the worst box office figures ever recorded at the Rose. Yet here is Olympio and Eugenio again, and its box office is still dismal. Why does the company keep reviving this play so determinedly yet so infrequently?

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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