Death in Deptford

Historian Jerry Brotton presents a 10-part exploration into the life and work of the Elizabethan playwright Christopher ‘Kit’ Marlowe. Notorious for his violent death in a brawl in Deptford on the banks of the Thames, there’s perennial interest in Marlowe’s writing, his sexuality, his relationship with Shakespeare, the suspicion that he was a spy and the big “what-if” he had lived longer and produced even greater work. As the artistic co-director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Daniel Evans says in the first programme – if things had been different, might he himself be working for the “Royal Marlowe Company”?

Step-by-step, Jerry Brotton traces Kit Marlowe’s life and career, takes us through his key plays, including Tamburlaine, Dr Faustus and Edward II, examines why they resonate with us now and talks to those today who are still fascinated by Kit’s legacy and influence.

The first episode opens with the infamous murder of Christopher Marlowe in 1593. Was he murdered by dark political forces or simply the victim of a dispute over the bill, or ‘reckoning’? As well as establishing a murder mystery around Kit, this episode introduces him as an outsider in his class, sexuality and outlook. Jerry argues that it is Marlowe, not Shakespeare, who creates the conditions for Elizabethan drama as we know it today, which remains the DNA of all later English theatre.

Written and presented by Professor Jerry Brotton
Produced by Melissa FitzGerald
Christopher Marlowe read by Justice Ritchie
Other voices read by Tonderai Munyevu
Sound design by Tony Churnside

A Zinc Audio Production