Henslowe writes: 7 | ne | tt at v playes in one | 02 | 01
In modern English: 7th [April, 1597] ... total at Five Plays in One ... £2 and 1 shilling [i.e. 41 shillings].
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| The number 5 in a column of figures in Henslowe's Diary |
We have already encountered a lost play of this kind at the Rose, back in 1592, entitled Four Plays in One. And one theory about the lost Seven Days of the Week, is that it too was an anthology show. We know of other lost plays of this kind, too. Thomas Middleton's one-act Yorkshire Tragedy (1607) was once part of an otherwise lost Four Plays in One. The only text of this form to survive in full is Four Plays, or Moral Representations, in One, written around 1614 by John Fletcher and his collaborators.
Rosyln L. Knutson's entry on Five Plays in One for the Lost Plays Database describes how early theatre historians were over-imaginative in assuming that the playlets were on Classical subjects. In truth, we know nothing at all about their subject matter. All we know is their number.
In terms of box office, Five Plays in One has not had an auspicious debut: the audience is small for a premiere, and it will need good word of mouth to be a success.
FURTHER READING
Five Plays in One information
- Rosyln L. Knutson, "Five Plays in One (Admiral's Men)", Lost Plays Database (2019), accessed April 2021.
- Martin Wiggins, British Drama, 1533-1642: A Catalogue, vol. 3 (Oxford University Press, 2021), entry 1063.
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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