Here's what
the Earl of Sussex's Men performed at the
Rose playhouse on this day, 424 years ago...
Henslowe writes: R at the fayer mayd of ytale the 12 of Jenewary 1593 ... ixs
In modern English: Received at The Fair Maid of Italy, 12th January, 1594 ... 9 shillings
 |
Portrait, supposedly of Simonetta
Vespucci, by Sandro Botticelli
(late 15th century) |
Today, Sussex's Men introduced another of their plays to the Rose audience:
The Fair Maid of Italy. Unfortunately, this is a lost play about which we know almost nothing, except, of course, that it was about a beautiful Italian maiden.
In her article for the
Lost Plays Database, Roslyn L. Knutson speculates that "the fair maid of Sussex's play was a commoner, doubtless pursued by various unsuitable suitors but perhaps one desirable one"; she also wonders whether the Italian maiden's foreignness gave her "an exotic sexuality". These are good guesses based on the typical tropes of Elizabethan comedy, but unless a manuscript of the play happens to turn up in a garage sale, we'll probably never know.
Whatever its plot, today's performance received dire box office, almost as bad as yesterday's. Not even the novelty of a play so far unseen at the Rose could draw London's theatregoers this week.
What's next?
There will be no blog entry tomorrow, because 13th January was a Sunday in 1594 and the players did not perform.
Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on 14th January for a week that will include one new play along with the usual suspects.
Further reading
Fair Maid of Italy information
Henslowe links
Comments?
Did I make a mistake? Do you have a question? Have you anything to add? Please post a comment below!
