Upstart crow - Ben Elton

"This does indeed deserve comparisons with Blackadder" Radio Times

"A knockabout, well-researched take on the working and domestic life of Shakespeare." The Guardian

It's the 1590s. William Shakespeare - brought to life on screen by the inimitable David Mitchell - is at the start of his career.
But no one is taking him seriously. In London, he is mercilessly mocked by his rivals and at home in Stratford he is belittled by his sullen teenage daughter.

Yet he is determined to find an ending for his newest creation Romeo and Juliet. Luckily, inspiration is forthcoming. The trials and tribulations of his closest friends and family reveal the plot twists he'd been missing. And not only for this famous tragedy but for many of his finest plays.

With sparkling wordplay, hilarious gags and his trademark wit, Ben Elton celebrates the great William Shakespeare and reveals the startling stories behind the playwright's best-known plays.

Ben Elton's multi-award winning career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past thirty-five years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he was co-writer of
TV hits The Young Ones and Blackadder and sole creator of
The Thin Blue Line and Upstart Crow. He has written fifteen major bestsellers, including Stark, Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous, High Society, Two Brothers and Time and Time Again,
three West End plays
and three musicals, including global phenomenon We Will Rock You. He has written and directed two feature films, Maybe Baby and Three Summers.

He is married and has three children.

A gag-packed riot
The Times

A knockabout, well-researched take on the working and domestic life of Shakespeare
The Guardian

Gloriously restores Elton's credentials as a reliable provider of quality sitcom
The Telegraph

It's really, really funny
Spectator

The guffaws come thick and fast
Independent

Packed with gags
Mirror

This does indeed deserve comparisons with Blackadder
Radio Times

A rollicking good comedy
Express