The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries: Four BBC historical crime comedies

Christopher Marlowe turns government spy in these four comedy crime dramas

Murder and intrigue are all in a day's work for Kit Marlowe, England's leading playwright and undercover agent in Her Majesty's Secret Service. Amid the squalor and splendour of Elizabethan London, he probes a series of baffling mysteries, aided by his trusty underworld accomplice Bartholomew Ratsbane.

The Curious Case of the Curs'd Quayside - Two of the navy's finest warships have been mysteriously sunk while moored in harbour. Sent by spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham to investigate, can Marlowe find the saboteur before more ships are scuppered?

The Turbulent Tale of the Troubl'd Tragedy - Spring, 1590, and the keen-witted spy is faced with two tricky cases. Who has stolen Mighty Meg from the Tower, and why has an unknown patron funded the worst play ever written?

The Perplex'd Plot of the Perilous Plague - Fleeing the epidemic that is ravaging London, Christopher Marlowe takes refuge with Walsingham at the Palace of Whitehall. But it seems the plague has followed them to the very heart of government...

The Murky Mystery of Murder at St Marks - When an eminent professor receives a death threat, Marlowe sets off to his Cambridge college to make enquiries. But no sooner has he arrived than the dons start dropping like flies. Can the murderer at large be outwitted?

Dominic Jephcott stars as Marlowe in these light-hearted comic mysteries, with Bill Wallis as Ratsbane, Paul Brooke as Sir Francis Walsingham and guest appearances from Roy Hudd, Hugh Bonneville (credited as Richard Bonneville), Peter Serafinowicz and Hugh Dennis.

Written by Ged Parsons Produced and directed by Richard Wilson

Cast Marlowe - Dominic Jephcott Bartholomew Ratsbane - Bill Wallis Sir Francis Walsingham - Paul Brooke Admiral Downing/Beaumont - Garard Green Captain Curtis/Dr Heywood - Brian Bowles Captain Barnaby - Julian Dutton Ned Peake - Roy Hudd Fortescue - Simon Godley Trump - Lionel Jeffries Squires - Daniel Strauss Gloriana Nonsuch - Victoria Carling Faversham - Ronald Herdman Ripley - Richard Bonneville Dr Valentine - Hugh Dennis Dr Darras - Peter Serafinowitz Sir Hubert Sharpe - Gordon Reid Mistress Parker - Sarah Thomas

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9-30 December 1993

© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

© 2022 BBC Digital Audio (Lydbog): 9781529904796

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Lydbog: 29. december 2022