So, in the menu there are a series of pages with our audio, and links to other material, in something approximating chronological order. You can work through the menu, or there’s a link list below. We’ve (almost) done a reading for every since play written in English prior to the 17th century – and there’s a playlist below to listen to some of that material in chronological order.

Of course history is messier than this. Plays have a more complex life – being revived and printed, living on long after the first performance, where lists tend to place things.

Also, dates are a complete sod to get right. The early stuff could be put all over the place. Please don’t send angry emails. Unless they’re accurate. Do send accurate emails. We will correct and adjust and tinker with these lists as we go on.

These timelines are primarily a route in – a way to put the stories we have access to in some sort of context. Feel free to curate your own playlists – you can use spotify et al and publish your own. We don’t mind.

Super Early Stuff – 900 to 1350 page here.

Late Medieval – 1350 to 1485 page here.

Henry the Seventh – page here.

Henry the Eighth – page here. You might also like to look at the works of John Heywood here.

Edward the Sixth – page here.

Mary the First – page here.

Elizabeth the First – early years 1558 to 1575 page here, 1576 to 1589 page here, 1590 to 1593 page here, 1594 to 1599 page here, 1600 to 1603 page here.

James the First (of England) – early years of his reign 1603 to 1607 page here, 1608 and beyond here.