James Shirley Critical Essay | Critical Essay by Ronald Huebert

Critical Essay by Ronald Huebert

SOURCE: Huebert, Ronald. “The Staging of Shirley's The Lady of Pleasure.” In The Elizabethan Theatre IX, edited by G. R. Hibbard, pp. 41-59. Port Credit, Ont.: P. D. Meany, 1981.

In the following essay, Huebert reconstructs the first staging of The Lady of Pleasure.

The first performance of The Lady of Pleasure took place in late October or early November, 1635. The play was licensed for performance on 15 October,¹ and by 5 or 6 November it had attracted sufficient notice to deserve mention in John Greene's diary. Referring to the party of guests which gathered to celebrate his sister's wedding, Greene wrote as follows: “wee were at a play, some at cockpit, some at blackfriers. The play at cockpit was Lady of pleasure, at blackfriers the conspiracy.”² A month later, on 8 December, Sir Humphrey Mildmay recorded in his account book the expenditure of 1 shilling for admission to...
(read more)