Drama: The Reckoning

RADIO 4, SATURDAY, 4PM

Burn Gorman and Chris Lew Kum Hoi star in a new three-part adaptation of Charles Nicholl’s book focusing on the death of 16th century playwright Christopher Marlowe, the man who had a huge influence on William Shakespeare.

His demise in London in 1593 has gone down in history as the result of a drunken quarrel, but Nicholls suspects that Marlowe who, at the age of 29, was at the peak of his powers, was actually murdered.

There are gaps in the story, which Nicholls has painstakingly attempted to fill – and that’s no mean feat considering he’s relying on contemporary reports from an event that took place almost 500 years ago. Nevertheless, he’s come up with something that at the very least will provoke further thought and reading on the matter.