Upstart Crow - So You Think Shakespeare's Boring?

"So You Think Shakespeare's Boring?" - That was the title of a project I had to do as part of the English GCSE. I'm just going to let it all out: I hated learning about Shakespeare at school. It's rarely taught well. Having to stay up all night translating one scene from Much Ado About Nothing into modern English is a surefire way to really kill someone's interest. Especially if that someone is 14 years old and believes that evenings are better spent playing Call of Duty.

Anyway, I'm not here to do another rant about bad blood from my school days. I'm here to look at something that might get someone interested in Shakespeare: Upstart Crow. This sitcom from Ben Elton follows David Mitchell as William Shakespeare trying to make a name for himself as a playwright. Unfortunately, his common background is a cause of contention with the Oxbridge-educated playwright and Master of the Revels Robert Greene, played by Mark Heap.

The series has a great cast of characters, and takes place around three principal locations:

1. Shakespeare's London lodgings, where he writes his plays while plagiarising accepting inputs from his servant Bottom (Rob Rouse) and his landlady's daughter Kate (Gemma Whelan) who aspires to be an actress. Also present is Shakespeare's close friend Kit Marlowe (Tim Downie), a suave fellow playwright and spy.
2. Shakespeare's family home in Stratford, where he interacts with his wife Anne Hathaway (Liza Tarbuck), their grumpy teenage daughter Susanna (Helen Monks), and his parents Mary Arden (Paula Wilcox) and John Shakespeare (Harry Enfield). The home scenes often include a rant by William about his commute from London.
3. The Red Lion Theatre, where Shakespeare runs his plays with actors Henry Condell (Dominic Coleman), Richard Burbage (Steve Speirs), and William Kempe (Spencer Jones).

The stories in each episode often allude to Shakespeare's works, and he is often inspired or dissuaded by these events. And because it's Ben Elton, there are plenty of stabs at modern issues, but it's done in a way that fits in well with the setting, often in the form of people joking that it will never catch on. I especially like how everyone frequently criticises how loquacious Shakespeare is, most notably with the line "Wherefore art thou?", which is seen as "Where are you, Romeo?". Yeah, it mocks Shakespeare just as much as it lauds him.

If there's anything I do take issue with, it's the character of William Kempe. He's supposed to be similar to Ricky Gervais, but I don't really see the point of that. I just don't think he's very funny - and I wasn't that keen on The Office to begin with. Besides that, the series is solid comedic gold. Speaking as someone who hated studying Shakespeare at school, I find it very therapeutic. And speaking as a writer, I find that I can almost relate to the protagonist, as I'm sure most writers trying to get their lucky break would.

The second season of Upstart Crow has just finished, but there's a third season and a Christmas special on the way. I highly recommend that you find it. If you liked Blackadder then you'll love this one.