Upstart Crow
- TV sitcom
- BBC Two
- 2016 - 2020
- 21 episodes (3 series)
Sitcom about the life of jobbing playwright William Shakespeare, struggling to find inspiration in Tudor London. Also features David Mitchell, Rob Rouse, Gemma Whelan, Liza Tarbuck, Harry Enfield and more.
Streaming rank this week: 1,145
Episode menu
Series 1, Episode 2 - The Play's The Thing
Broadcast details
- Date
- Monday 16th May 2016
- Time
- 10pm
- Channel
- BBC Two
- Length
- 30 minutes
Repeats
Show past repeats
| Date | Time | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday 24th February 2018 | 9:40pm | Gold |
| Monday 30th April 2018 | 10:00pm | Gold |
| Tuesday 1st May 2018 | 2:55am | Gold |
| Sunday 7th April 2019 | 11:30pm | Gold |
| Monday 8th April 2019 | 3:25am | Gold |
| Sunday 8th September 2019 | 1:50am | Gold |
| Monday 9th September 2019 | 1:00am | Gold |
| Monday 14th October 2019 | 3:25am | Gold |
| Saturday 2nd November 2019 | 1:20am | Gold |
| Tuesday 6th June 2023 | 11:00pm | Gold |
| Monday 3rd July 2023 | 12:40am | Gold |
| Monday 3rd July 2023 | 3:30am | Gold |
| Sunday 10th September 2023 | 12:35am | Gold |
| Sunday 10th September 2023 | 11:20pm | Gold |
| Wednesday 15th November 2023 | 10:00pm | BBC2 |
Cast & crew
| David Mitchell | Will Shakespeare |
| Rob Rouse | Bottom |
| Gemma Whelan | Kate |
| Liza Tarbuck | Anne Hathaway |
| Harry Enfield | John Shakespeare |
| Paula Wilcox | Mary Arden |
| Helen Monks | Susanna |
| Steve Speirs | Burbage |
| Tim Downie | Marlowe |
| Dominic Coleman | Condell |
| Mark Heap | Sir Robert Greene |
| Spencer Jones | Kempe |
| Ben Elton | Writer |
| Matt Lipsey | Director |
| Gareth Edwards | Producer |
| Myfanwy Moore | Executive Producer |
| Jake Bernard | Editor |
| Julian Fullalove | Production Designer |
| Grant Olding | Composer |
Video
Shakespeare has trouble working from home
Will tries to get the family to help with his plays, with mixed results.
Featuring: David Mitchell (Will Shakespeare), Liza Tarbuck (Anne Hathaway), Harry Enfield (John Shakespeare) & Helen Monks (Susanna).
Press
Upstart Crow Fact Check - The Play's the Thing
The title of this episode is from Hamlet and the words are spoken by Hamlet himself.
A Dose Of David Mitchell, 5th August 2019On the eve of its presentation to Queen Elizabeth I, William Shakespeare's controversial new play about the Mary Stuart - Mary The Frog-Jock - goes mysteriously missing. And Will's best friend Kit Marlowe (Tim Downie) is in the frame, in ye second parte of Ben Elton's Tudor comedy. Perhaps make that "tragi-comedy": this is no Blackadder II, and the usually assured David Mitchell as Shakespeare certainly seems a trifle uncomfortable barking out lines such as "I am not going bald, I have low eyebrows."
Ali Catterall, The Guardian, 16th May 2016Upstart Crow: joke's already wearing thin in episode 2
Last week's episode of Upstart Crow (BBC Two), Ben Elton's new ye olde sitcom starring David Mitchell as William Shakespeare, would have worked as a one-off stand-alone special for Comic Relief or similar. The thought of a whole series of the thing is a bit tiring.
Isabel Mohan, The Telegraph, 16th May 2016Preview: Upstart Crow, episode 2
It's great to report that the first episode of Upstart Crow was not a fluke. Writer Ben Elton repeats the trick again in the second episode. In fact if there is a problem here it isn't so much that this week's episode is like Blackadder, it's more a case that it is too much like last week's episode.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 13th May 2016