Toy to Please Chaste Ladies, A

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Historical Records

Performance Records

Playlists in Philip Henslowe's diary

Fol. 14 (Greg, I. 27)
ye 14 of novembʒ 1595 . . . . ne . . Rd at a toye to please my ladey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ljs
ye 21 of novembʒ 1595 . . . . . . . . Rd at a toye to please chaste ladeyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxjs
ye 31 of novembʒ 1595 . . . . . . . . Rd at the toye to please chaste ladeyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xijs
ye 10 of Jenewary 1595 . . . . . . . . Rd at a toye to please chaste ladeyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviijs
Fol. 15v (Greg 1.30):
ye 13 of aprell 1596 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rd at toye to please chaste ladeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxixs


Fol. 21v (Greg 1.42)
ye 9 of June 1596 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rd at the chaste ladye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviijs
ye 12 of July 1596 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rd at the toye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xs



Theatrical Provenance

"A Toy to Please Chaste Ladies" was performed by the Admiral's men at the Rose over the span of a year, from November 1596 to November 1597.

Probable Genre(s)

Comedy (Harbage)

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

None known.


References to the Play

None known.


Critical Commentary

Neither Malone, Collier, Fleay, BCED (2.304 #175, nor Greg II, 177 #81, nor Gurr hazarded a guess about the story line of this play. Fleay did mention a play associated with James Shirley called "The Toy" and dated 1638, and Greg picked up the echo, but that play is also lost.

Wiggins, Catalogue (#1018) doesn't guess at the story but does suggest that scholars has referred to it as "evidence for the view that the Rose repertory included 'soft pornography'" without attributing the claim. For his further musings on the possibilities suggested by Henslowe's change of phrasing from "please my lady" to "please chaste ladies," see #1018.


For What It's Worth

Works Cited




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