30 April, 1597 - That Will Be Shall Be

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

Henslowe writes:  30 |  tt at what wilbe shalbe ... | 00 | 14

In modern English: 30^th [April, 1597]  ... total at What Will Be Shall Be ... 14 shillings 

Today, the Admiral's Men staged That Will Be Shall Be, an enigmatic lost play about which you can read more in the entry for 30 December, 1596.

The company seems to have decided to perform That Will Be Shall Be only about once a month, apparently regarding it as one of their less important plays. Today's box office is better than last time but still unimpressive.

A female archer tries to take down a war elephant. The man on the
right appears to share the sentiments of this play's title.
From the Smithfield Decretals (c.1340)

What's next?

There will be no blog entry tomorrow because 1 May was a Sunday in 1597 and the players did not perform. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 2nd - 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!