Tom Hughes will play Christopher ‘Kit’ Marlowe in the second season of A Discovery of Witches. The Sky Original fantasy drama is based on the All Souls novels by Deborah Harkness, which sees a young academic who reconnects with her witch heritage after meeting a debonair vampire. They become embroiled in a supernatural war over time. The second season takes place in Elizabethan London, where they will meet the mercurial and dark Kit Marlowe.
The Marlowe Kit opened in April 2019 with a free exhibition, Kent’s Remarkable Writers. It focuses on Christopher Marlowe, Aphra Behn and Joseph Conrad. Contact The Marlowe Theatre, The Friars, Canterbury CT1 2AS, tel 01227 787787
The Kit is housed in the 12th century former Poor Priests Hospital, and is both child- and adult-friendly. There are opportunities to interact with some of the exhibits through immersive activities such as trying on Elizabethan-style clothing, and watching presentations.
The Kit houses an escape room called Marlowe’s Ghost. This is a race against time to escape from a locked room by deciphering clues.
The Marlowe Kit has finally opened. On April 6th, it opened to the public with a free exhibition entitled “Kent’s Remarkable Writers” which focuses on three of Kent’s most distinguished writers: Christopher Marlowe, Aphra Behn and Joseph Conrad.
It is upon us again. Come celebrate the genius of Christopher Marlowe at the Marlowe Kit in Canterbury, with talks, performances and idea-sharing on the 25th May.
Click for more information and to book.
A vote was held for committee members, with George Metcalfe stepping down and being replaced as Executive Vice President by Dr Joanna Labon. Tom Slator was welcomed as the new Treasurer with grateful thanks to Charles Cox for his wonderful tenure. Professor Richard Wilson spoke about the Shakespeare North theatre in Liverpool and the ARTS (Association of Replica Theatres) project, which both bode well for promotion of Elizabethan drama.
Various matters were discussed, including the statue effort for Canterbury by an independent group, a garden party hosted by former Archbishop of Canterbury at his college in Cambridge to raise funds, and a plea for more contributors for the newsletter. George Metcalfe volunteered to organise the Christopher marlowe memorial service at Poet’sCorner in Westminster abbey this year.
Members had also ordered a fish and chips lunch, which was duly delivered and enjoyed.
In the afternoon, Professor Chris Carr from the Edinburgh Business School delivered a powerful lecture analysing Ovid’s influence on Marlowe and later writers including Shakespeare by reviewing the latter’s Venus and Adonis. He raised many interesting issues on the basis of creative provenance and demonstrated how Ovid’s body of work was instrumental to the creation of so many literary and dramatic works especially during the Elizabethan era.
After this, the audience were treated to a wonderful one-woman performance by Lizzie Willis, simply entitled “Marlowe’s Women”. The play was devised together with Prof Ken Pickering and director Sally Elkerton. Willis gave a delightful performance, showcasing some of Marlowe’s best known female characters and protagonists through that immeasurably beautiful prose with the appropriate timbre and poise. Bravo, Lizzie.
A wonderful time was had by all, as longtime members got together for a catch-up, and newer members strengthened their bond with the Society.
Marlowe Society membership officer, Dr Julian Ng, was recently in Malta and met up with Dr Vicki Ann Cremona, the Chair of the School of Performing Arts at the University of Malta.
Dr Cremona had delivered a talk about on Christopher Marlowe and works, particularly his seminal play “The Jew of Malta“, which was performed for the first time ever in Malta. The production was performed from 5-10 October 2018 and produced by Malta’s esteemed Manoel Theatre. (We included this information in our Events Calendar).
The Jew of Malta is one of the few classical plays set entirely on the Maltese islands, and as testament to Marlowe’s great imagination, takes place in an alternate reality where the Great Siege never happened – and the fabled Knights of Malta had to pay tributes to Turkish Sultan in order to avoid a war.
Dr Cremona talks about how Marlowe’s dexterity and prowess in writing about anti-heroes lead to masterpieces on characters who fight over power, religion, politics and greed – themes which are still frighteningly relevant to today’s society.
Listen to the audio interview below:
As usual, our London Marlowe Day was held on the 23rd February 2019 at the King and Queen Pub in London.
With a lecture by Professor Chris Carr and a sneak preview of the one-woman show “Marlowe’s Women” by Lizzie Willis, read more about the event here.