Theatre company read through

The company comes together when searching for the next plays to perform, and stages read-throughs. Actors are given the scripts and a character to play in advance. Then they gather and read through the script adding any acting they see fit. This helps the director hear the play from different voices and helps visualize how it could be put on. 

Arden of Faversham plot overview

Arden of Faversham tells the dramatic story of Thomas Arden, a wealthy landowner in 16th-century England, who is murdered as part of a plot orchestrated by his unfaithful wife Alice and her lover, Mosby. It’s based on a true story of a murder in 1551, and to modern eyes is a documentary style play, with the characters enacting the story as it involves, various odd and botched attempts to commit murder, the final act, their capture and execution. It is thought that some theatrical embellishment and simplification occurs in the play.

Thomas Arden recently acquired significant lands, but his personal life is troubled by Alice’s affair with Mosby. Longing to be with Mosby and unable to divorce Arden, Alice conspires to kill her husband. She and Mosby involve several accomplices, including an assistant named Clarke (a painter) who attempts poisoning then Arden’s servant and two professional killers (Black Will and Shakebag (thought to be made-up names to represent the real muerderes)).

Failed murder attempts

Multiple attempts are made on Arden’s life, via poisoned food, ambushes, and staged confrontations. The strangest is when Clarke makes and supplies a deadly poison crucifix that kills anyone who looks at it, (spoiler) it fails. Several murder efforts are unsuccessful due to chance and Arden’s unintended evasions. The conspirators grow increasingly desperate while risks mount as more people learn of their plots. 

The murder and its aftermath

Eventually, the conspirators succeed in killing Arden after luring him to his own home under false pretenses. They try to hide the evidence, but a messy and ill-concealed crime scene quickly betrays them. All the main conspirators, including Alice and Mosby, are arrested and sentenced to death, meeting violent ends as punishment for their crimes. 

Historical basis

The play is based on a real 1551 murder, reflecting both a personal domestic tragedy and public outrage at greed and infidelity. The murder took place on or around February 14, 1551, in the town of Faversham, Kent. Arden's body was later found in a field after the conspirators attempted to move it to cover up the crime. It’s the first play in the English language that depicts a real life murder (that is not royalty).

Alice Arden was tried, convicted, and executed by burning at the stake. All the accomplices faced various executions, including hanging and burning, at several locations connected to the crime.