1 May, 1596 - The Wonder of a Woman

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

Henslowe writes: maye daye 1596 ... R at wonder of a womon ... xxij^s 

In modern English: May Day, 1596 ... Received at Wonder of a Woman ... 22 shillings

Artemesia Gentileschi, Allegory of
Fame (early 1630s)

Today was May Day, a public holiday! The Admiral's Men have chosen to celebrate with The Wonder of a Woman, a lost play that you can read more about in the entry for 16 October.

This is a big disappointment for the company. The May Day holiday usually brings floods of theatregoers into the Rose, but today only a paltry crowd has shown up for The Wonder of a Woman. Whether this is due to bad weather or the unpopularity of the play, Henslowe must be frustrated.

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow because 2nd May was a Sunday in 1596 and the players did not perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 3rd May for a week that will include a new(ish) 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!