This continues our series on the various theories and speculations about Marlowe's death.
THE THREE MEN IN THE ROOM
More is known about the three other men in the room, Ingram Frizer, Robert Poley and Nicholas Skeres, than about Christopher Marlowe. Frizer, the man who killed Marlowe, was a servant of Sir Thomas Walsingham, a relative of Francis, the Spymaster. In this case, "servant" refers to a general handyman, a combination of secretary, administrative assistant, and gofer. Thomas Walsingham was not only Frizer's employer, but, as was often the case in Elizabethan times, a patron of Christopher Marlowe. To add to his mysterious resume, Frizer appears to have been an adept confidence man, specializing in schemes to lend money and extract more than he leant.
Robert Poley and Nicholas Skeres were, to one degree or another, spies in the employ of Francis Walsingham. Poley was deeply involved in "The Babbington Plot," a scheme by Roman Catholic dissidents to assassinate Elizabeth I and to replace her with the imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots. Evidence supports the idea that Poley infiltrated the plotters, encouraged their traitorous plans, and provided information to Francis Walsingham, allowing the plot to be both created and thwarted.
In order to maintain Poley's cover as a spy, Poley was comfortably imprisoned in the Tower of London for two years -- lenient, by Elizabethan standards. Skeres was also involved in the undoing of Babbington and his co-conspirators, and engaged in other assignments for Francis Walsingham.
Hence, all three were connected to the shadowy world of 16th century espionage and intrigue.
And so was Marlowe.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
MURDERING MARLOWE: THE REAL STORY PART 1
The backstory about Christopher Marlowe has many theories. Fortunately there is an excellent site http://www.crimelibrary.com/ that offers some fine scholarship on the subject.
The story is by Russel Aiuto and we will be sharing it on this blog as we grow close to our show opening (May 18).
THE OFFICIAL STORY
May 31, 1593. A widow's house in Deptford, three miles from London. She rents rooms for meetings, and provides food and drink to those who wish to spend the day in contemplation. It is just after six in the evening, the sun not yet set, the room suffused in a pale, golden light. Supper is over. In a matter of minutes, Christopher Marlowe will be dead.
Three of the men are seated on a bench, "cheek by jowl," as one of them is to report later, in front of a trestle table. They are playing an Elizabethan version of backgammon. The only other furniture in the beamed, dark, low-ceiling room is a bed, upon which the fourth man, recovering from too much wine, is reclining. One of the men at the table, the one sitting in the middle of the three, says, over his shoulder, that the bill for their day's food and drink must be paid to their hostess. The young, drunken man on the bed protests. His share of the reckoning is too large, he says. The man at the table replies that the share is only right. The young man lurches to his feet and grabs the dagger from the seated man's belt -- kept in his belt at the small of his back, "Spanish style" -- and strikes him on his head, a superficial gash that bleeds profusely. He strikes him again, opening a second wound. The man struggles to his feet, grabs the wrist of the young man, and forces the dagger into the eye of his assailant. He falls to the floor, instantly dead. The man at the table had no choice. He had to defend himself.
This is the account of the three men, given to the coroner the next day, June 1, 1593, as the coroner and his jury of 16 men view the room and the body. It is a case of self-defense. The next day, June 2, in the churchyard of St. Mary's, Deptford, the dead man is buried. The grave is unmarked.
Death was a common event in Elizabethan London. Plague, violence, execution -- each day brought the end of life to more than a few 16th century Londoners, with little regard to rank or station. Death hovered above the city day after day. Why should the death of this one man concern us?
Two weeks later, the man who thrust the fatal blow is pardoned by Queen Elizabeth I.
Who is he, the man who is dead on the floor of a chamber in a widow's house? And how did he really die?
He must have been important.
The story is by Russel Aiuto and we will be sharing it on this blog as we grow close to our show opening (May 18).
THE OFFICIAL STORY
May 31, 1593. A widow's house in Deptford, three miles from London. She rents rooms for meetings, and provides food and drink to those who wish to spend the day in contemplation. It is just after six in the evening, the sun not yet set, the room suffused in a pale, golden light. Supper is over. In a matter of minutes, Christopher Marlowe will be dead.
Three of the men are seated on a bench, "cheek by jowl," as one of them is to report later, in front of a trestle table. They are playing an Elizabethan version of backgammon. The only other furniture in the beamed, dark, low-ceiling room is a bed, upon which the fourth man, recovering from too much wine, is reclining. One of the men at the table, the one sitting in the middle of the three, says, over his shoulder, that the bill for their day's food and drink must be paid to their hostess. The young, drunken man on the bed protests. His share of the reckoning is too large, he says. The man at the table replies that the share is only right. The young man lurches to his feet and grabs the dagger from the seated man's belt -- kept in his belt at the small of his back, "Spanish style" -- and strikes him on his head, a superficial gash that bleeds profusely. He strikes him again, opening a second wound. The man struggles to his feet, grabs the wrist of the young man, and forces the dagger into the eye of his assailant. He falls to the floor, instantly dead. The man at the table had no choice. He had to defend himself.
This is the account of the three men, given to the coroner the next day, June 1, 1593, as the coroner and his jury of 16 men view the room and the body. It is a case of self-defense. The next day, June 2, in the churchyard of St. Mary's, Deptford, the dead man is buried. The grave is unmarked.
Death was a common event in Elizabethan London. Plague, violence, execution -- each day brought the end of life to more than a few 16th century Londoners, with little regard to rank or station. Death hovered above the city day after day. Why should the death of this one man concern us?
Two weeks later, the man who thrust the fatal blow is pardoned by Queen Elizabeth I.
Who is he, the man who is dead on the floor of a chamber in a widow's house? And how did he really die?
He must have been important.
Monday, April 23, 2007
MURDERING MARLOWE MACABRE
In the coming days, we will be posting information relating to the death of Christopher Marlowe, his associates, and the back story that surrounds our production.
Sure, the play is apocryphal, but the characters are intriguing and the city of London was one teaming mass of malcontents, plotters and opportunists.
Stay tuned!
Sure, the play is apocryphal, but the characters are intriguing and the city of London was one teaming mass of malcontents, plotters and opportunists.
Stay tuned!
Friday, April 20, 2007
OLD "BUS STOP" GETS A FRESH NEW LOOK
Went to see the preview performance of "Bus Stop" by William Inge last night. The play was performed in the black box theatre at ECC. It was directed by Beata Pilch from Trap Door Theatre in Chicago.
Seeing a small town realistic American classic re-imagined with hints of the avante-garde is absolutely wonderful. I never read or saw the play or movie, so I went in raw, with no expectations.
Little touches like the asides, spotlight speeches, strobe-light blackouts, overlapping dialogue and the overall sense of playfulness in the production, really opened the show up to the audience. The predominately young cast did an excellent job throughout.
If you go to the show, keep your eye on the actor playing the sheriff. He has a subtle intensity about him that is very interesting. In fact all the actors stayed focused and providing good support to each other, even when the focus wasn't on the them. The relationship between Beau and Cherie is fiery and the Professor serves wonderfully as narrator/character/storyteller. And the actor playing the young waitress has enough spunk to jump-start a car.
My hope is that audiences come out to see this play and enjoys the fresh interpretation that's been applied. It's very theatrical and completely accessible.
Seeing a small town realistic American classic re-imagined with hints of the avante-garde is absolutely wonderful. I never read or saw the play or movie, so I went in raw, with no expectations.
Little touches like the asides, spotlight speeches, strobe-light blackouts, overlapping dialogue and the overall sense of playfulness in the production, really opened the show up to the audience. The predominately young cast did an excellent job throughout.
If you go to the show, keep your eye on the actor playing the sheriff. He has a subtle intensity about him that is very interesting. In fact all the actors stayed focused and providing good support to each other, even when the focus wasn't on the them. The relationship between Beau and Cherie is fiery and the Professor serves wonderfully as narrator/character/storyteller. And the actor playing the young waitress has enough spunk to jump-start a car.
My hope is that audiences come out to see this play and enjoys the fresh interpretation that's been applied. It's very theatrical and completely accessible.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
ONCE MORE INTO THE BREACH
Have been away for awhile.
Working on writing grants for the company, seeing shows and planning for the upcoming production of Murdering Marlowe.
Tomorrow night we start rehearsals. We had a reading almost two weeks ago. Now I'm eager to get going on this new story about some classic characters: Shakespeare and Marlowe. The play is very contemporary. The themes range from envy, jealousy, fame, marriage and desire. Breaking it all down should be a wonderful challenge.
The approach is fairly typical: block the play, work it, run it through and polish it to a fine sheen. That is the hope. The excitement comes from working with the actors and seeing what they bring to the play with their ideas and talents. What I see is only a part of the whole. The key is to see what is created by all of us working together, collaborating and dissecting, devouring and digesting the play. It's an interesting process that can be exhausting, because once you see something on stage that is intrigues you, the next instinct is to explore it further, which leads to other doors, new discoveries, and really long sentences like this one.
In any case, tomorrow will be the first major step into this new world, and I'm excited to see where we end up on May 18.
Working on writing grants for the company, seeing shows and planning for the upcoming production of Murdering Marlowe.
Tomorrow night we start rehearsals. We had a reading almost two weeks ago. Now I'm eager to get going on this new story about some classic characters: Shakespeare and Marlowe. The play is very contemporary. The themes range from envy, jealousy, fame, marriage and desire. Breaking it all down should be a wonderful challenge.
The approach is fairly typical: block the play, work it, run it through and polish it to a fine sheen. That is the hope. The excitement comes from working with the actors and seeing what they bring to the play with their ideas and talents. What I see is only a part of the whole. The key is to see what is created by all of us working together, collaborating and dissecting, devouring and digesting the play. It's an interesting process that can be exhausting, because once you see something on stage that is intrigues you, the next instinct is to explore it further, which leads to other doors, new discoveries, and really long sentences like this one.
In any case, tomorrow will be the first major step into this new world, and I'm excited to see where we end up on May 18.
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