Metamorphoses

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.

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.

Today, Jerry Brotton visits Corpus Christi College in Cambridge, where Kit Marlowe studied and was transformed from scholarship boy to gentleman – among many other transformations. It is where he learned the Greek and Latin classics - and how to spy. But was Kit a loyal Protestant working for the Queen, or a secret Catholic double agent? This episode recreates the dark world of Tudor espionage and Kit’s murky involvement in it. Jerry also examines the one contemporary image we may have of Kit, known as the ‘Corpus Portrait’, which many believe is the face of Marlowe.

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