# The Tempest is performed at court on 1 November 1611

Date: 1611

## The fact

The Revels accounts record The Tempest at court on Hallowmas Night, 1 November 1611. This is a dated performance of a play later printed only in the 1623 Folio.

## Context

The Tempest is a late play, often grouped with the romances, and later overloaded with colonial allegory. Colonial readings are interpretations, not extra events.

## Evidence and sources

The Revels notice is the dated source. Birthplace Trust and Folger treat 1611 as the earliest firm performance. No 1611 printed text exists; absence of a quarto is itself evidence about the book trade, not about whether the play was staged. Wikipedia is not used as a causal source.

## Significance

A late court play shows [Shakespeare](/people/william-shakespeare) still supplying the company after the Globe fire was still two years away. Cohesion is repertory continuity.

## What is established and what is not

Established: 1 November 1611 court Tempest. Not established: that the play is an autobiography; that it is a colonial policy paper. Confidence high on the Revels date.

The event remains dated 1611-11-01. Shakespeare's documented role is: The King's Men performed Shakespeare's Tempest at Whitehall; he was still a patented player and principal dramatist. A late romance at court kept the company at the centre of household culture in James's reign. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1611-11-01. Shakespeare's documented role is: The King's Men performed Shakespeare's Tempest at Whitehall; he was still a patented player and principal dramatist. A late romance at court kept the company at the centre of household culture in James's reign. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1611-11-01. Shakespeare's documented role is: The King's Men performed Shakespeare's Tempest at Whitehall; he was still a patented player and principal dramatist. A late romance at court kept the company at the centre of household culture in James's reign. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1611-11-01. Shakespeare's documented role is: The King's Men performed Shakespeare's Tempest at Whitehall; he was still a patented player and principal dramatist. A late romance at court kept the company at the centre of household culture in James's reign. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1611-11-01. Shakespeare's documented role is: The King's Men performed Shakespeare's Tempest at Whitehall; he was still a patented player and principal dramatist. A late romance at court kept the company at the centre of household culture in James's reign. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1611-11-01. Shakespeare's documented role is: The King's Men performed Shakespeare's Tempest at Whitehall; he was still a patented player and principal dramatist. A late romance at court kept the company at the centre of household culture in James's reign. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

The event remains dated 1611-11-01. Shakespeare's documented role is: The King's Men performed Shakespeare's Tempest at Whitehall; he was still a patented player and principal dramatist. A late romance at court kept the company at the centre of household culture in James's reign. Responsibility is not transferred to later editors, later theatres, or later national myth.

## People

- William Shakespeare: https://factrail.ai/people/william-shakespeare

## Drivers

- Social Cohesion: https://factrail.ai/drivers/social-cohesion

## Sources

- https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/tempest/
- https://shakespearedocumented.folger.edu/

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/shakespeare-tempest-court-1611