True Crime 1599

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BBC Radio 4 - True Crime 1599

Charles Nicholl explores the first wave of true crime dramas on the English stage.

In the 1590s there was radical shift in English plays as theatres began to put contemporary news onstage. Charles Nicholl explores this first wave of true crime drama.

For the last decade, True Crime has become ubiquitous on television and podcasts. Yet despite its current popularity, it’s not a new phenomenon. In this programme, author Charles Nicholl take us back to a time before podcasts, TV, pulp magazines, even Penny Dreadfuls – all the way to the English stage 400 years ago when, for the first time, playhouses were putting contemporary news onstage.

With guests James Shapiro, Catherine Richardson and Sarah Phelps.

Presenter: Charles Nicholl

Actors: Rhiannon Neads, John Lightbody, Michael Bertenshaw, Josh Bryant-Jones, Ian Dunnett Junior
Sound design: Peter Ringrose
Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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True Crime 1599

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