Bill. Bill Shakespeare (Mathew Baynton). Copyright: BBC Films / Cowboy Films
Bill

Bill

  • 2015 film

Comedy film charting the young life of William Shakespeare and his finding fame in London, starring the cast of Horrible Histories. Stars Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond

  • JustWatch Streaming rank this week: 3,558

Press clippings Page 3

Six main actors and supporting cast play a variety of roles in the Horrible Histories' take on William Shakespeare's lost years. The Bard had tried being in a band but it didn't work out so it's off to London for fame and fortune and a nasty Spanish Catholic plot to kill Queen Elizabeth I.

It's all a hoot with touches of Python, Blackadder and The Young Ones as the great and the good of Elizabethan England tread the boards. Damian Lewis does a cameo as Sir Richard Hawkins, Ben Willbond hams it up as King Philip II of Spain with his trio of assassins, miserable Christopher Marlow (Jim Howick) helps the Bard and Helen McCrory is all you hope for as Elizabeth I.

Great fun but will it fill the big screen?

Clive Botting, The Huffington Post, 17th September 2015

Bill review - you will chuckle (a lot) at this

Bill is funny. There's no better way to put it than that.

Alex Leadbeater, What Culture!, 17th September 2015

Bill review: 'unreasonably funny'

Intelligent children and immature adults will love the Horrible Histories troop's Python-meets-Stoppard version of Shakespeare's "lost years".

Robbie Collin, The Telegraph, 17th September 2015

Bill review

The Horrible Histories team tackle the early life of William Shakespeare. A funny family treat is the end result.

Alys Key, Den Of Geek, 16th September 2015

The Horrible Histories crew put a spin on Shakespeare

The Horrible Histories crew have been a hit on TV, and now they've given Shakespeare their unique treatment - for the big screen.

Roger Crow, Hull Daily Mail, 16th September 2015

Horrible Histories team tell the tale of Shakespeare

When I visit - at the tail end of winter 2014 - there's a sea of activity on set, with cast and crew busy shooting a scene which involves Queen Elizabeth, her courtiers and, funnily enough, a tennis ball.

Craig Jones, The Bristol Post, 15th September 2015

Damian Lewis and wife take roles in Bill

Damian Lewis and Helen McCrory now hope to finally impress their toughest critics: their children. The couple have taken on roles in Bill, a new children's comedy about William Shakespeare, after they fell in love with Horrible Histories as a family.

Hannah Furness, The Telegraph, 14th September 2015

Bill review

Horrible Histories gang offer their unique take on Shakespeare's quest for success.

Emma Simmonds, The List, 14th September 2015

Mathew Baynton interview

The Yonderland star Mathew Baynton on becoming a young Shakespeare - and why his clowning career was almost over before it began.

Holly Williams, The Independent, 13th September 2015

Review: Bill

Simply put, Bill is good fun. It won't win any awards, but there are more than enough laughs.

John Townsend, Starburst Magazine, 4th September 2015

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