French Doctor

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Historical Records

Performance Records (Henslowe's Diary)

F. 10 (Greg, I.19)


ye 18 of octobʒ 1594                  Res at the frenshe docter                xxijs

F. 10v (Greg, I.20)


ye 28 of octobʒ 1594                 Res at the frenshe docter                 xvs


ye 18 of novmbʒ 1594               Res at the frenshe docter                 xxvijs

F. 11 (Greg, I.21)


ye 3 of Jenewary 1594                  Res at the frenshe docter                 xxjs


ye 30 of Jenewary 1594               Res at the frenshe docter                 xviijs


ye 7 of febreary 1594                     Res at the frenshe docter                 xxjs

F. 11 v (Greg, I.22)


ye 24 of febreary 1594                  Res at the frensh doctor                  xxxxxiiijs


ye easter mondaye 1595             Res at the ffrenshe doctor              liijs


ye 3 of may 1595                              Res at the frenshe docter               xjs

F. 12 v (Greg, I.24)


ye 2[3]4 of maye 1595                   Res at the frenshe docter                    xxijs

F. 13 (Greg, I.24)


ye 19 of septmbʒ 1595                  Res at the frenshe doctor                  xvjs

F. 21v (Greg, I.42)


ye 4 of July 1596                                Res at frenshe dacter                        xiiijs

F. 25 (Greg, I.49)


ye 29 of octobʒ 1596 Res at the frenshe docter                               xvs


ye 9 of novmbʒ 1596             Res at the frenshe docter                   xiiijs

Payments to Edward Alleyn for Playbooks

F. 96 (Greg. I.153)

pd at the apoyntment of the companye the }

18 of Janewary 1601 vnto E Alleyn for iij boockes }

w^ch were played called the french docter the } vj^li

massaker of france & the nvtte the some of }

Theatrical Provenance

The Admiral's men brought "The French Doctor" to the stage of the Rose in October 1594 and continued it into the autumn season of 1596-7. However, any clarity about its pre-October provenance is complicated by the fact that Henslowe did not mark the play "ne" at its debut in his records (autumn, 1594). Theater historians consequently assume that the play was in revival. See Critical Commentary and For What It's Worth for issues of provenance.

But where had it been when new, and with which company?

Harbage, under the heading "1590, Addenda," lists "The French Doctor" with more than several dozen plays that appear in Henslowe's diary in playlists for Strange's men (1592-3) and the Admiral's men (1594-5) without his distinguishing "ne" (he includes also "Hester and Ahasuerus"). He thus implies a pre-1590 debut for each item, though he assigns each to the company that performed it when Henslowe was entering performances and payments in his diary (in the case of the Admiral's men, a pre-1590s version of the company is not considered identical to the 1594 version).

Wiggins, Catalogue focuses on Edward Alleyn as the key to the pre-1594 provenance of "The French Doctor" (#833; see also #785 for a broader treatment of the Admiral's non-"ne" plays in 1594-5). Offering several scenarios for the stage life and company/player ownership of "The French Doctor" before October 1594, he is comfortable only with the conclusion that the play had been in Alleyn's hands for some time before its sale to the Admiral's men in 1602.

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

See Critical Commentary and For What It's Worth for scholarly thinking on plays and narratives related to "The French Doctor" if its title is a mask for some other play.

References to the Play

None known.

Critical Commentary

Fleay

Greg

Knutson

Gurr tentatively assigns the play a date of 1593 (210); commenting on its age, he observes that the "relatively small initial taking also suggest that it was not new" (210, n26).

Wiggins

For What It's Worth

Agreed that "The French Doctor" had a stage history before its introduction to the Rose by the Admiral's men in October 1594, scholars do not comment on its commercial value to the company.

length of run average receipts playability over many months of being shelved (Oct/July + two at start of autumn 1596) purchase from Alleyn despite age; compare with "Nut"