When Marlowe's play The Jew of Malta first appeared on stage during the Winter season of 158990, it was evidently very popular with the theatergoing public Scholars only know this because It was performed many times during the coming years. In many ways, Marlowe's own notoriety probably added to the audience's interest. But then, a few years later, when the queen's Jewish physician was accused of trying to poison her (generally regarded as a false accusation), Marlowe's depiction of the Jew engendered even more interest. Performances of Marlowe's play continued for the next several years right up until the closing of the theatres in London in 1642. When the theatres reopened, after the Restoration in 1660, tastes had changed and the "blood tragedies" of earlier years were no long as popular.

There is little information about specific performances in the period following The Jew of Malta's initial success until...