The May Masque at Apethorpe
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The May Masque at Apethorpe was an entertainment written by Rachel Fane and performed at Apethorpe Hall in 1627.
Rachel Fane was a daughter of Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland and Mary Mildmay Fane, Countess of Westmorland. There was a tradition of Christmas and New Year entertainments and other private theatricals at their home in Northamptonshire.[2] Rachel Fane copied some details or excerpts into a green manuscript notebook, including The May Masque.[3] Internal evidence suggests she wrote The May Masque for performance with her siblings in 1627 when she was about 13 or 14 years old. The manuscript includes a short Christmas Prologue, The Wishing Chair Entertainment, and other items.[4][5][6]
Performance
The May Masque includes pastoral elements which would have been dramatised with props from the Apethorpe estate farms. The masques were either performed in the Long Gallery at Apethorpe,[7] or the older Great Hall, spaces which still exist. The audience included Rachel's parents, other family members, and presumably guests at the house.[8][9]
In the manuscript, the text of the masque is preceded by a cast list which includes Rachel Fane's brothers and sisters, and others who may have been the children of local people, estate workers, and tenants.[10]