Henslowe as a Blog

I made an index to the Henslowe blog in case anyone finds that useful! hensloweasablog.blogspot.com…

This afternoon, the @PlaysRep #AdmiralsMarathon concludes with a reading of The Whore of Babylon, Thomas Dekker's bizarre fairyland allegory of Anglo-Spanish relations! readingearlyplays.com/oxford…

This afternoon, @PlaysRep is reading Old Fortunatus, Thomas Dekker’s weird comedy about a man who finds a magic hat. Wish @dnmcinnis were here! 😀#AdmiralsMarathon readingearlyplays.com/oxford…

The premise of the play “Sir John Oldcastle” is “Falstaff was actually a virtuous and devout Protestant!” But that is boring. So the authors have created a fat, sleazy, highway-robbing catholic priest, also called Sir John, who does all the Falstaffy stuff. #AdmiralsMarathon

This morning at @PlaysRep, we are reading Sir John Oldcastle, the play by Shakespeare’s rivals that sought to redeem the reputation done to Oldcastle by the character of Falstaff! #AdmiralsMarathon readingearlyplays.com/oxford…

The Two Angry Women of Abingdon is quite delightful. It is way, way too long, but not, I think, because Porter is being paid by the word, but because he loves his characters too much and he loves theatre too much, and he loves Oxfordshire too much. Bless him. #AdmiralsMarathon

This evening, @PlaysRep , broadcasting to you live from Oxford, is enjoying a bit of local colour by reading The Two Angry Women of Abingdon by Henry Porter (1598). readingearlyplays.com/oxford… #AdmiralsMarathon

As far as I can tell, the moral of "Englishmen for My Money" is that Englishmen may be jerks but at least they're not foreigners. 🤷‍♂️ #AdmiralsMarathon

A lot of of "Englishmen for My Money" is like this: "God’s seker kind, dat’s un fraai meisje." "Ah Venice, Roma, Italia, Francia, Inghilterra, nor all dis orb can show so much bellezza" "Certes, me dink de mine de petite-a de little Anglais, de me matre!" #admiralsmarathon

This afternoon, @PlaysRep is reading William Haughton's "Englishmen for My Money or a Woman Will Have Her Will", which one of our members describes as "the ultimate funny voices play". readingearlyplays.com/oxford… #AdmiralsMarathon

Anthony Munday's "Robin Hood" plays are a dramatugical disaster. Part 1 one is good fun. But then it overlaps clumsily into Part 2, in which Robin Hood dies in Act 1 to be followed by a humourless four acts about King John and Matilda. Fie on thee, Munday, fie. #AdmiralsMarathon

In "Robin Hood Part 2" (1598), there's no Sherriff of Nottingham, but Doncaster is a delightfully evil equivalent. Try reading this speech in Alan Rickman's voice... #admiralsmarathon

Part 1 of 'Robin Hood' ended with the brilliant dramaturgical device of summarizing the plot of Part 2. 🤷‍♂️ #AdmiralsMarathon

One of the many insane things about Munday's Robin Hood plays is that Friar Tuck keeps randomly speaking in Skeltonics. Wish you were here, @lucycmunro , you might be able to justify this nonsense. #admiralsmarathon

Today at @PlaysRep we are reading the two-part "Robin Hood", by Anthony Munday (published as the "Robert Earl of Huntingdon" plays). It starts with fun metatheatre: the plays are framed as a rehearsal for a performance to Henry VIII. readingearlyplays.com/oxford… #AdmiralsMarathon

The best line in A Humorous Day's Mirth is "I will in silence live a man forlorn, / Mad and melancholy as a cat." But a close second is "Never was minion so disminioned." #AdmiralsMarathon