Hester and Ahasuerus

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Anon. (>1594)


Historical Records

Henslowe's Diary

F. 9 (Greg I, 17)

ye 3 of June ................ R[d] at heaster & asheweros ................ viijs
ye 10 of June ................ R[d] at heaster ................ vs


Theatrical Provenance

'Hester and Ahasuerus appears in Henslowe's diary on 3 June 1594 in the list of plays offered by the Admiral's Men and Chamberlain's Men playing at the playhouse in Newington. Because it does not appear in those records after 10 June, scholars assume that the play belonged not to the Admiral's men, who returned to the Rose on 15 June and whose records of performance are recorded there by Henslowe, but to the Chamberlain's men, if it had a stage life after the Newington run. It is not marked "ne," which implies that it had been in production by some company previously. There are no further records of its performance.

Probable Genre(s)

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Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

Godly Queen Hester German play

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References to the Play

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Critical Commentary

Greg unenthusiastic about a connection between this lost play and the extant Interlude of the Virtuous and Godly Queen Hester (Q1561) as well as an item in Francis Kirkman Wits in 1673. Without saying why, he does like a connection with "the hypothetical English original of the German play printed in the collection of 1620 (Herz, p 111)" (II, 163-4).


For What It's Worth

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Works Cited

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