16 May, 1597 - Uther Pengragon

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

Henslowe writes: whittsone mvnday | 16 | tt at pendragon ... | 02 | 19

In modern English: Whitsun Monday ... 16^th [May, 1597] ... total at Pendragon ... £2 and 19 shillings [i.e. 59 shillings]

Uther Pendragon and Merlin, from British
Library manuscript Royal 20 A II
(early 14th century)

Hooray, it's a holiday! Today is Whit Monday, the first day of Whitsuntide, a multi-day holiday celebrating the beginning of summer. Londoners are in a festive mood and ready for a bit of fun in the theatre. On this special day, the Admiral's Men have revived Uther Pendragon, their lost play about the father of King Arthur. You can read more about this play in the entry for 29 April.

The company must be delighted by today's performance, which has drawn a huge crowd, almost filling the Rose. They must be particularly pleased to perform Uther Pendragon to such a crowd. Despite being pushed heavily over the last few weeks, the play has not been proving at all popular, so today is a much-needed burst of enthusiasm. The actors are probably revelling in it.

 

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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