Marlowe given joint billing with Shakespeare for Henry VI

TWO renowned Shakespeare scholars based in Stratford reacted with academic respect this week to research that identifies the Bard’s fellow playwright Christopher Marlowe as co-author of all three of the Henry VI plays.

Marlowe was born in Canterbury in 1564, the same year as William Shakespeare, and died in 1593 in a brawl in Deptford, London. The Henry VI plays are acknowledged to have been written in 1591.

The decision to credit Marlowe with part authorship of Henry VI has been made following research by a team of 23 academics from five countries. The 2016 edition of the Oxford Shakespeare is therefore recognising Marlowe for the first time as co-author of Henry VI. Marlowe is already an esteemed playwright as a result of his two most famous works, Doctor Faustus and The Jew of Malta.

Four professors headed the team that completed the research, including Gary Taylor of Florida State University in America and John Jowett of the Stratford-based Shakespeare Institute, which is part of the University of Birmingham.

The two academics in Stratford who've welcomed the progress being made in Shakespeare scholarship are Professor Sir Stanley Wells, honorary president of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Dr Paul Edmondson, head of research at the trust.

For a full report see this week's Herald.