Category:Rose: Difference between revisions

The Enterprise

The Rose playhouse was built in 1587 by Philip Henslowe in Southwark on the Bankside on the east corner of Maiden Lane and Rose Alley. The carpenter was John Griggs. John Cholmley, who sought the concessions on property adjacent to the Rose, entered an agreement with Henslowe in 1587 that carried a half-interest the playhouse for eight years. Henslowe remodeled the playhouse in 1592 to accommodate more playgoers in the yard and the galleries.

Henslowe's Diary

In conjunction with this remodeling, he began to keep a book of accounts known as Henslowe's Diary. In the diary, 1592-7, Henslowe recorded the companies playing at the Rose, the dates of their performances, the name of their shows, and his own receipts per performance. Those companies included Strange's men (1592-3), Sussex's men (1594), Sussex's men with the Queen's men (1594), the Admiral's men and the Chamberlain's men at Newington (1594), and the Admiral's men (1594-1600). In 1597 Henslowe changed the nature of his entries. He now entered payments made on behalf of the Admiral's men for playbooks, apparel, and divers things. In October 1600, he entered two payments on behalf of Pembroke's men, who leased the Rose briefly after the Admiral's men moved to the Fortune (1600). In 1602-3 he entered payments on behalf of Worcester's men, who leased the playhouse for about a year. Henslowe's final payment on behalf of the companies at the Rose was in May 1603.

The Rose apparently did not reopen in 1604, after an industry-wide closure due to plague. It may have survived as a venue for non-theatrical entertainments.

Modern Excavations

In 1989 archeologists discovered the foundations of the Rose, which will be available to for public viewing in the future in coordination with a museum at the site. The fruits of the excavations are discussed in detail by Bowsher and Miller.

NB. This page is a work in progress; rather than attempting to represent a complete list of plays staged at the Rose, this page will continually be updated as new entries are created for Rose plays.

Scholarship

Berry, Herbert. "The Rose" in Wickham, 419-23.
Bowsher, Julian and Pat Miller. The rose and the Globe — playhouses of Shakespeare's Bankside, Southwark. Excavations 1988-90. Monograph 48. Museum of London Archaeology, 2009.