7 February, 1597 - Osric

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

Henslowe writes: Shrove mvnday | 7 | tt at oserycke ... | 00 | 14 

In modern English: Shrove Monday ... 7^th [February, 1597] ... total at Osric ... 14 shillings

It's Shrove Monday, a day for eating eggs and bacon in advance of the fasting period of Lent! Today, the Admiral's Men performed Osric, a play they had re-introduced to the repertory a few days ago; we know nothing about the subject matter of this lost play, but you can read more about it here.

Effigy of Osric, King of Hwicce, in Gloucester
Cathedral. Photo: Andrew R. Abbot, CC BY-SA 3.0

Shrove Monday does not tend to result in noticeably high box office; it seems to have ben a day for eating but not playgoing, and the box office for Osric is unimpressive.

Curiously enough, this is the final appearance of Osric in Henslowe's Diary, even though we have seen it only once before. For whatever reason, the company has revived it twice and then decided never to repeat the experiment. So, farewell, Osric! 

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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23 February, 1596 - The Blind Beggar of Alexandria

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 22 of febreary 1595 ... Shroue monday ... R at the blind beager ... xxxvj^s

In modern English: [23^rd] February, [1596] ... Shrove Monday ... Received at The Blind Beggar ... 36 shillings

Beggars in Alexandria; an undated photograph
from Brooklyn Museum's Lantern Slide Collection

It's Shrove Monday, a day for eating eggs and bacon in advance of the fasting period of Lent! Today, the Admiral's Men revived The Blind Beggar of Alexandria, a comedy by George Chapman about a master of disguise. You can read more about it in the entry for 12 February.

The celebratory feasting of Shrove Monday tends not to increase the box office at the Rose; sure enough, The Blind Beggar's audience has dropped, although Rose is still half full.

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!

3 March, 1595 - The Siege of London

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

Henslowe writes: y^e 3 of marche 1594 ... R at the sege of london ... xxvj^s 

In modern English: 3^rd March, 1595 ... Received at The Siege of London ... 26 shillings

Thomas Neville's siege of London, from a
1391 French manuscript

Today is Shrove Monday, a day when it was traditional to eat eggs and bacon in advance of the fasting period of Lent. Their fatty meals consumed, the Admiral's Men staged The Siege of London, an enigmatic lost play that might have portrayed the attacks on London by Canute in 1016 or by Thomas Neville in 1471. You can read more about this play in the entry for 27 December, 1594.

The players have waited three weeks before performing The Siege of London after having previously been performing it weekly. The box office continues to decline, but slowly.

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!