Tamar Cham, Parts 1 and 2

Anon. (1592)

Historical Records

Greg, Papers, 145-48 (Internet Archive)

Theatrical Provenance

Initially produced by Strange's (probably as competition for the Admiral's Tamburlaine plays), with Part 2 being performed as new on 28 April 1592. The plays were acquired by the Admiral's by 1596, when Part 1 was revived on 06 May and Part 2 on 11 June (probably because they were owned by Alleyn, who moved from Strange's to Admiral's). The Admiral's bought the book of the plays from Alleyn in 1602, presumably with a view to reviving them once again.

Probable Genre(s)

Tragedy; Eastern conqueror.

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

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References to the Play

In 5.5 of Dekker's The Shoemaker's Holiday (1600), Simon Eyre refers to Tamar Cham's beard:

EYRE. My liege, a very boy, a stripling, a younker; you see not a white hair on my head, not a gray in this beard. Every hair, I assure thy majesty, that sticks in this beard, Sim Eyre values at the King of Babylon’s ransom, Tamar Cham’s beard was a rubbing brush to’t: yet I’ll shave it off, and stuff tennis-balls with it, to please my bully king.

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Critical Commentary

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For What It's Worth

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Works Cited

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