15 July, 1597 - Alexander and Lodowick

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

Henslowe writes: 15 | tt at elexsander & lodwicke ... | 00 | 08

In modern English: 15^th [July, 1597] ... received at Alexander and Lodowick ... 8 shillings

A very generic illustration accompanying the
printed text of the ballad of The Two Faithful
Friends: The Pleasant History of Alexander
and Lodowick

Today, for the last time on record, the Admiral's Men revived Alexander and Lodowick, a lost play about two friends who swap places. You can read more about this play in the entry for 14 January. 

The company has waited a fortnight to return Alexander and Lodowick to the stage after its relatively successful performance on St Peter's Day. Unfortunately, today's audience is tiny. 

Alexander and Lodowick does not reappear in the Diary after this entry, but that doesn't mean the company will abandon it. As we'll see in a few days, its playbook (the copy of the text marked up for performance) will go AWOL with a departing company member. But it will return, as Henslowe's financial transactions in 1598 show him buying new costumes for a revival. 

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?

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