6 January, 1593 - Titus and Vespasian

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

Henslowe writes: R at titvs the 6 of Jenewary 1592 ... lij^s 

In modern English: Received at Titus, 6^th January, 1593 ... 52 shillings

Today was Epiphany, a feast day marking the end of the Christmas season (also known as Twelfth Night), and on this day Lord Strange's Men revived a play called Titus. This was presumably Titus and Vespasian, a play that the company had premiered earlier in the year, and which had become a popular fixture of their repertory. The play is now lost, but it was mostly likely a gruesome and violent tale about the Roman siege of Jerusalem during the Jewish rebellion of the 1st Century; you can read more about it in the entry for 11th April.

The performance received box office far above the average, perhaps because of the holiday season, or perhaps indicating that Titus and Vespasian was another of the plays that audiences had been pining for during the closure of the theatres.

Nicholas Poussin, The Destruction and Sack of the Temple at Jerusalem (1637)

What's next?

There will be no entry tomorrow because the 7th of January was a Sunday in 1593. Henslowe's Diary ... as a Blog! will thus return on the 8th of January for a week that will feature an exciting new play ... or will it? It's complicated.

FURTHER READING

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!