24 April, 1596 - Harry V

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 24 of ap^rell 1596 ... R at hary the 5 ... xv^s 

In modern English: 24^th April, 1596 ... Received at Harry V ... 15 shillings

King Henry V, posthumous portrait
(late 16th or early 17th century)

Today, the Admiral's Men performed Harry V, their play about King Henry V of England, who, according to legend, gave up a dissolute lifestyle and led his country to victory against the French at the Battle of Agincourt before his untimely death. You can read more about this play in the entry for 28 November.

This unimpressive audience for Harry V crowns the end of a very disappointing fortnight for the company, which has now brought back fourteen of its regular plays and has found very little interest from Londoners. Perhaps this is merely caused by a run of bad weather; Laurie Johnson suggests via Twitter that John Stowe's Annals record heavy rain this month. But let's hope for better news next week.

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow because 25 April was a Sunday in 1596 and the players did not perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 26th for a week that will include a new play. See you then! 

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!

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