Performing places in Thomas Dekker’s 'Old Fortunatus'

This article explores Thomas Dekker's 'Old Fortunatus' in light of the tumultuous social and political contexts of 1599. Building upon recent critical interest in the dynamically mobile contexts that surrounded early modern literary production, the article focuses particularly upon Dekker's interest in the linked instabilities of social, geographical, and professional (dis)placement. Frazer unravels a text that engages with various dimensions of the "places" occupied by and performed within late-Elizabethan theatrical culture. This reading culminates in a consideration of Dekker's coded commentary on the Earl of Essex debacle, drawing parallels between the nebulous social placements of the emerging professional dramatist and overreaching courtier.