Five Plays in One (Admiral's)
Historical Records
Performance Records (Henslowe's Diary)
F. 26 (Greg I, p. 51)
April 1597 7 tt at v playes in one. . . . . . . . . . 02|01|00 — 18 — 01
F. 26v (Greg I, p. 52)
April 1597 15 tt at v playes in one. . . . . . . . . . 01|08|02 — 00 — 00 20 tt at v playes in one. . . . . . . . . . 00|19|00 — 07 — 01 25 tt at v playes in one. . . . . . . . . . 01|13|01 — 00 — 00 May 1597 6 tt at v playes in one. . . . . . . . . . 00|16|00 — 03 — 00 14 tt at v playes in one. . . . . . . . . . 00|07|00 — 00 — 00 23 tt at v playes in one. . . . . . . . . . 01|00|03 — 00 — 01
F. 27 (Greg I, p. 53)
June 1597 10 tt at v playes in one. . . . . . . . . . 00|11|03 — 01 — 00 28 tt at v playes in one. . . . . . . . . . 01|00|00 — 13 — 11
Theatrical Provenance
The Admiral's men introduced "Five Plays in One" at the Rose playhouse as a new ("ne") play, and there is no evidence to suggest that it had a stage life after its maiden run ended.
Probable Genre(s)
Unknown (Harbage); Anthology (Wiggins #1603)
Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues
Collier considered this play as well as Three Plays in One and Four Plays in Oneto be a grouping of playlets offered for "variety" and not necessarily "connected in subject" (22, n5). He considered the "Five Plays in One" put on (with Three Plays in One by the Queen's men in 1584-5) to belong to this group, but he did not lump the Admiral's 1597 play with the Queen's 1594-5 one despite the identical title, nor did he suggest the narratives possibly dramatized in any of these plays.
Fleay, therefore, appears to have begun both the lumping of "Five Plays in One" with Richard Tarlton and the plot of "2 The Seven Deadly Sins" (Chronicle History, 83) and with the Ages plays by Thomas Heywood (BCED, 1.286).
References to the Play
Critical Commentary
For What It's Worth
Works Cited
Site created and maintained by Roslyn L. Knutson, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; 12 November 2019.