Brought to us by the people behind Horrible Histories and Yonderland, BBC Films’ **Bill **is a history of William Shakespeare that may not be exactly like the tales we’ve been told to date. The film is currently shooting in London, West Sussex and, as in this first picture, in York Minster, White Rose country. Left to right are Laurence Rickard as Lope, Simon Farnaby as Juan, Mathew Baynton as Bill Shakespeare himself, Martha Howe-Douglas as Anne, Ben Willbond as King Philip II of Spain and Jim Howick as Gabriel.
**Bill **co-stars and Horrible Histories writers Rickard and Willbond have penned a script that will feature a heady mix of royster-doystering, ruffs and royal scheming.
Runs the synopsis: “Bill tells the story of what really happened during Shakespeare's ‘Lost Years’ - how hopeless lute player Bill Shakespeare leaves his family and home to follow his dream. It’s a tale of murderous kings, spies, lost loves, and a plot to blow up Queen Elizabeth.”
It’s directed by Richard Bracewell, the man behind Richard E. Grant thriller Cuckoo, and will be baffling historians from February 20, 2015. Still, at the very least it should be less offensive to Shakespeare fans than Anonymous.