Matt Lipsey
Upstart Crow
To coincide with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, Ben Elton created Upstart Crow: an irreverent comedy about the life of the famous bard.
David Mitchell stars as the every-man Shakespeare, suffering the daily trials of maintaining a work-life balance; appeasing one's wife; handling a teenage daughter; and living with elderly parents.
Even if your knowledge of Elizabethan domesticity is scant, Elton’s new family sitcom is a return to jokes and I welcome that with ye knobs on.
Julia RaesideThe Guardian
Up there with Elton’s very best stuff — cleverly milking every last cliché about the life, works and myth of William Shakespeare to create gags which, though often broad and obvious, flatter your intelligence even as they give you glorious, cheap belly laughs. And maybe the odd knowing chuckle.
James DelingpoleThe Spectator
