24 June, 1597 - The Life and Death of Harry I

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

Henslowe writes: 24 | tt at harey the firste ... 00 | 14

In modern English: 24^th [June, 1597] ... total at Harry I ... 14 shillings

 

King Henry I depicted in The Book
of the Laws of Ancient Kings (1321)

Today is Midsummer Day, a public holiday and a time to celebrate the summer. On this special day, the company has chosen to revive their lost history play, The Life and Death of Harry I, which told the story of King Henry I, the twelfth century king of England. You can read more about this play in the entry for 26 May.

Despite the festive occasion, the box office for Harry I is exactly the same as last week's. It seems hard to predict what people will do on Midsummer's Day: last year it drew a huge audience to see Phocas, but the year before it had little effect on The French Comedy. Clearly, there are variables that we do not understand. 

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!