The Shoemaker's Holiday
When Firk and Hodge threaten to quit, Eyre scolds his wife and buys a round of beer to smooth things over.
Hodge reveals the plan to buy the cargo and Eyre, getting ahead of himself, dons a velvet coat and alderman's gown.
Master Scott reveals to Otley that Simon Eyre has made a lot of money on the sale of the Dutch cargo.
Scene 3 Hammon's servant visits the shoemakers to order a pair of shoes for his master's bride, since they will be married the next day.
Deloney's influence on Dekker's work is impossible to overlook considering that two of the three interwoven plots of The Gentle Craft are found within The Shoemaker's Holiday.
[13] After accumulating a modest fortune, he was elected Sheriff of London, mobilizing his involvement in numerous civic projects, including service as both a councilman and as an alderman of multiple wards.
Scholars hold that Dekker's reasoning for portraying Eyre as a shoemaker lies in the desire to romanticize an already-popular urban myth of the time by combining the historical and the stuff of legend.
Halstead asserts that Dekker most likely drew from The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth when writing The Shoemaker's Holiday, because of the similarities found between each plays impressment scenes.
From the beginning, Margery frowns on hiring Lacy, proposes to replace the workers who threaten to quit, does not want the staff to take off for the holiday, and supports her husband's rise to sheriff and then mayor.
In Act 3 Scene 1, Eyre's purchase of the heavily discounted cargo from the Dutch skipper reveal the theme of insider capitalism.
"[24] Eyre prioritizes honest dealing in order to foster a longer-term trade relationship, but he also seeks to maximize gain.
[4] This gesture stems from cultural expectations concerning "gift-giving and hospitality in order to craft connections to noblemen and gentlemen who were then obliged to reciprocate with tangible benefits such as economic aid and protection.
Simon Eyre dislikes war but supports his country's participation in it strongly, accentuating his role as a stand-in for the common citizen.
An academic debate is still active as to whether Dekker's play maintains or dissents against the class structure of early modern Britain.
In her essay Work, Bodies, and Gender in The Shoemaker's Holiday, Ronda Arab claims that Eyre's rise in social status does not compromise his "artisanal identity.
"[20] She claims that Eyre's multiple identities challenge the hierarchal class structures of early modern English societies.
Ann Christensen notes that the work done by Margery Eyre in the play is disregarded as inconsequential and stripped of political significance.
[22] Christensen also argues that Dekker and other early modern dramatists of city comedies often portray tradesmen's wives as "crafty, skilled and profit-minded", embodying the negative aspects of capitalism.
[30] Amy L. Smith describes cross-class marriages in The Shoemaker's Holiday as a means of attaining agency through "conflicting investments".
"[31] Christopher L. Morrow has suggested that The Shoemaker's Holiday constructs England's national identity through a culture of corporate community.
Fleck notes that The Shoemaker's Holiday, like other comedies of the late Elizabethan period, celebrates "... the traits of English subjects living in London, often at the expense of foreigners.
"[33] Fleck argues that the conclusion of the play, with the marriage of Lacy and Rose, implies that aristocrats may unite with citizens to "prepar[e] the way for a unified England to face a foreign enemy".
During Dekker's lifetime, the only surviving performance record of The Shoemaker's Holiday is in 1600 on New Year's Day as part of Queen Elizabeth I's annual Christmas celebrations and entertainment.
[35] In November 1912, at Brinkerhoff Theatre, the Philolexian Society of Columbia University presented a well-received parodic interpretation with an all male-cast performing men's and women's roles.
In January 1938, Orson Welles brought significant attention to The Shoemaker's Holiday with his abridged version in the Mercury Theatre in New York.
[42][43]In 1967, Director Douglas Campbell of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota presented an adaptation with an instrumental score composed by Dominick Argento.
[46][47][48][49] In February 2005, Peter Dobbins as artistic director of Storm Theatre presented a performance in contrast to Welles' comedic abridgment.
[50] In 2015, the Royal Shakespeare Company produced The Shoemaker's Holiday at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon to highly acclaimed reviews.
[51][52] Critics praised director Phillip Breen for reinterpreting scenes and evoking contemporary issues of war trauma and oppression.
[61] In December 1974, CUNY's Queens College presented a drama and dance ballad opera adaptation by lyricist John Olon and with music by Argento.
