Grecian Comedy

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Historical Records

Performance Records

Playlists in Henslowe's diary

F. 10 (Greg, I.19)

ye 4 of octobʒ 1594

. . . . . . . . .

Res at the love of a gresyan lady . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xxvjs

F. 10^v (Greg, I.20)

ye 13 of novembʒ 1594		Res at the gresyan ladye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	xvs
ye 23 of novembʒ 1594		Res at the greasyon comodey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	xs
ye 1 of decembʒ 1594	———	Res at the gresyan comody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	iiijs

F. 11 (Greg, I.21)

ye 25 of decembʒ 1594	S steuen	Res at the greasyane comodey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	xxxxvjs
ye 10 of Jenewary 159[4]5		Res at the greasyon comodey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	xxviijs
ye 25 of Jenewary 1594		Res at the greasyan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	xvs
ye 31 of Jenewary 1594		Res at the gresyan comody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	xxviijs

F. 11^v (Greg, I.22)

ye 22 of febreary 1594	. . . . . . . . .	Res at the gresyan comodey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	xxs
ye 24 of aprell 1595		Res at the gresyan ladye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	ljs
ye 16 of maye 1595		Res at the greasyan comodey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	xxxiijs

F. 13 (Greg, I.25)

ye 10 of octobʒ 1595

. . . . . . . .

Res at the gresyan comody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xs

Theatrical Provenance

Philip Henslowe recorded a play called "the greasyon comody" for the first time on 23 November 1594. He had previously recorded one he called "The Love of a Grecian Lady" on 4 October 1594 and "The Grecian Lady" on 13 November. He did not mark any of these titles with "ne." On 24 April 2595, he again entered the title "The Grecian Lady." There can be no question, then, that the titles were the Admiral's property, but it is not guaranteed that they belong to the same playscript, which was apparently not new when introduced in the late fall of 1594. See Critical Commentary below for scholars' opinions on whether these entries belong to one playscript or two and what title that script was most commonly known by at the time.

Probable Genre(s)

Comedy

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

Information Welcome.

References to the Play

Information Welcome.

For What It's Worth

The presence of a play called "The Love of an English Lady" in the same season as "The Love of a Grecian Lady" and "The Grecian Comedy" has added to the confusion of how many discrete plays Henslowe was recording as the repertorial offerings of the Admiral's men.

Works Cited

Gurr, Andrew. Shakespeare's Opposites: The Admiral's Company 1594-1625. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Site created and maintained by Roslyn L. Knutson, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; updated 11 August 2020.