What was Faversham's reputation in the Elizabethan period - how well known was it in the rest of England, and for what? When Arden of Faversham was written (probably by Shakespeare and a collaborator), how did audiences therefore respond to its title and its representation of town life?

 

This talk will be given by Professor Catherine Richardson, expert in Elizabethan drama, and Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh, expert in the social and cultural history of the period. In this talk, with special reference to Faversham and Kent, they aim to shed light on the nebulous question of a town's reputation, and situate one of Faversham's most enduring exports within the context of its Elizabethan status, answering the key question 'why write a play about Faversham in the 1590s?'