Antony and Vallia

Anon. Play Titles A (1595)Property "Paratext" (as page type) with input value "{{{paratexts}}}" contains invalid characters or is incomplete and therefore can cause unexpected results during a query or annotation process.Property "Contributor" (as page type) with input value "{{{contributors}}}" contains invalid characters or is incomplete and therefore can cause unexpected results during a query or annotation process.Property "Partnering Institution" (as page type) with input value "{{{partneringInstitutions}}}" contains invalid characters or is incomplete and therefore can cause unexpected results during a query or annotation process.

Historical Records

Performance Records

Playlists in Philip Henslowe's diary

Fol. 11 (Greg, I.21)

ye 4 of Jenewary 1594

. . . . . . . . .

Rd at valy a for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xjs

Fol. 12^v Greg I.24)

ye 20 of June	. . . . . . . . .	Rd at antony & vallea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	xxs
ye 6 of septmbʒ 1595	. . . . . . . . .	Rd at valia & antony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	xiijs

Fol. 13 (Greg I.25)

ye 26 of octobʒ 1595

. . . . . . . . .

Rd at valia & antony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xxxvijs

Theatrical Provenance

The play that theater historians collectively have called "Antony and Vallia" (based on Henslowe's variant spellings) had been acquired by the Admiral's men by January 1595, at which time it made its initial recorded performance at the Rose playhouse. Because Henslowe did not mark that showing with "ne" (the marking that most frequently distinguishes new plays in the diary playlists), theater historians have assumed a prior stage life for "Antony and Vallia," though no evidence suggests when and with which company that might have been.

Probable Genre(s)

Romance Harbage; Comedy Wiggins, Catalogue (#804

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

There are no obvious candidates for the title characters, and thus no obvious source texts for their story. See Critical Commentary below for a pattern of perceiving this play as an early version of some kind with a play called "Antonio and Vallia," itself lost yet attributed to Philip Massinger in 1620 with uncertain company provenance.

Works Cited

Site created and maintained by Roslyn L. Knutson, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; 1 February 2021.