Viewing Event Record: Nabbes' prologue to 'Hannibal and Scipio' assures the audience that the play is a refined entertainment

Abstract

In the prologue to Hannibal and Scipio, performed by the Queen Henrietta's Men at the Phoenix, Thomas Nabbes assures the ladies in his audience that they 'shall not blush, / Nor smile under their fannes' at the matter in his play. He explains that 'The places sometimes chang'd too for the Scene, / Which is translated as the music playes / Betwixt the acts[.]' He also reassures his audience that this production will not follow the low practice known to lesser theatres, of portraying 'the more horrid noise of target fight / By the blue-coated Stage-keepers[.]'

Date Event Recorded

Date
From: 1637 (Source of claim: original)

Date Event Happened

Date
From: 1635 (Source of claim: original)

Venues

Name
Phoenix/Cockpit

Event Type

  • audience context
  • cultural context
  • performance context
  • playhouse context