for them and to employ musicians. When the selection had been made, further rehearsals were required, especially as the texts had to undergo a process of 'reforming' or editing, in order that they might be 'convenient' for her majesty's hearing. There had been a bad blunder at the second Christmas of the reign when 'the plaers plad shuche matter that they wher commondyd to leyff off'.[1] Sometimes the office called in special aid to make such alterations; sometimes, as we learn from Henslowe's diary, the companies employed their own poets to carry them out, or to write special prologues or epilogues.[2] At first the perusal of plays appears to have been a common responsibility of the officers.[3] While Blagrave was in charge, it was supervised by the Lord Chamberlain, for whose satisfaction rehearsals sometimes took place at court. Tilney was encouraged by his commission of 1581 to treat it as his personal function, and charged wages for attendance at the office, with a porter and three other servitors, but as a rule without his colleagues, on nearly every day between All Saints and Christmas for the purpose of carrying it out.[4] All the officers, on the other hand, were concerned with the provision of the fittings of the stage and the properties and apparel necessary to furnish a sumptuous appearance for the players. The details of this provision are so mixed up in the accounts with those for the masks that they can only occasionally be assigned to individual plays. The wording of certain entries suggests that, while some plays required a complete outfit, for others the Revels was only called upon to supplement what the companies already possessed.[5] Probably the stuffs employed
- ↑ Machyn, 221.
- ↑ Cf. chh. xxiii, xxiv, s.vv. Chettle (1602); Dekker, Fortunatus, Phaethon; the anonymous Histriomastix. The prints of several plays contain special court prologues or epilogues, e.g. Lyly's Campaspe and Sapho and Phaon.
- ↑ Buggin's Revels memorandum of 1573 (Tudor Revels, 33) indicates that his proposed Serjeant 'is with the master and the reast of the officers to be at the rehersall of playes'.
- ↑ Feuillerat, Eliz. 326 (1579-80, 50 days), 337 (1580-1, 70 days), table ii (1581-2, 44 days), 352 (1582-3, 62 days), table iii (1583-4, 56 days), 368 (1584-5, 66 days), 389 (1587-8, 64 days; 1588-9, 57 days). The commission (App. D, No. lvi) authorized the Master to command players 'to appear before him with all suche plaies tragedies comedies or showes as they shall haue in readines or meane to sett forth and them to presente and recite before our said servant or his sufficient deputie'.
- ↑ Feuillerat, Eliz. 145, 193, 286, 320. In 1571-2 all the plays were 'throwghly apparelled and ffurnished'; in 1573-4 all were 'fytted and ffurnyshed with the store of thoffice and with the woorkmanshipp and provisions herein expressed'; in 1578-9 the clerk seems to distinguish between plays furnished with 'sondrey', 'some', 'manie', and 'verie manie' things; in 1579-80 seven out of nine plays were 'wholie furnyshed
