It’s Shakespeare in a nutshell this St. George’s Day, courtesy of ‘Upstart Crow’
Liza Tarbuck and David Mitchell in Upstart Crow. Photo: BBC
This coming Friday, William Shakespeare would have been 455 years old. While his true birthdate remains a mystery (he was baptized on April 26, 1564), it is generally celebrated today, April 23, the same day England’s patron saint is celebrated: St. George’s Day.
[UPDATE: It ends up that St. George’s Day is being celebrated on various days this year!]
It was a mere 403 years ago on the very same day in 1616 that the English poet, playwright, actor, world’s greatest dramatist and one who is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, passed away at the age of 52.
Written by Ben Elton, Upstart Crow, the BBC Two sitcom premiered in 2016 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. It centers around the early days of the aspiring playwright, who wishes to overcome his humble origins, make a name for himself in London and continue to be a good husband and father for his family. Shakespeare commutes between his family’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon and Central London, where he does most of his work.
With three seasons in the books, events in each episode allude to one or more of Shakespeare’s plays and usually ends with Will discussing the events with Anne. The end result is Shakespeare being either inspired or dissuaded from using them in a future work.
Complete with the obvious Shakespeare references and the occasional nod to other television sitcoms, such as Blackadder and The Office — plus numerous running gags involving Shakespeare’s coach journeys between London and Stratford, referring to modern motorway and railway journey frustrations — Upstart Crow is reminiscent of old school British situation comedy.
Alongside David Mitchell, who is brilliant as Will Shakespeare, the series has seen its share of quality guest stars over the course of the three seasons: Emma Thompson, Noel Fielding, Ben Miller (as the actor Wolf Hall, the oppressed outsider in The Merchant of Venice in a brilliant send up of real-life actor Mark Rylance), Adrian Edmondson and Kenneth Branagh.
Currently airing on a number of public television stations in America, let’s hope a fourth season is commissioned in the not-t00-distant future.
In: Comedy
