Bill - Film - British Comedy Guide (original) (raw)
Genre
Released
Creators
Laurence Rickard, Ben Willbond and Richard Bracewell
Stars
Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, Ben Willbond, Helen McCrory, Damian Lewis and more
Writers
Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond
Director
Producers
Charles Steel, Alasdair Flind, Tony Bracewell, Richard Bracewell, Alice Dawson, Christine Langan, Joe Oppenheimer, Ben Roberts and more
Companies
Midlands lutist Bill Shakespeare is distraught when his fellow Mortal Coil players kick him out of the band for being too avant-garde. But Bill has dreams: he's written a fantastic play, and dreams of having it performed in London.
Meanwhile, relations between England and Spain are at all all-time low. The Catholic Spanish king, Philip II, imprisons an English spy and one of Queen Elizabeth's favourites, Sir Richard Hawkins, leaving the monarch with no alternative but to invite her Papist counterpart to England to discuss terms for his release. King Philip accepts, but has more than a simple diplomatic mission in mind.
In the Queen's court, the boastful Lord Crawley Croydon proclaims he is the greatest playwright in the land, and has a piece that can be performed for the celebrations surrounding the coming Spanish guests. Unfortunately for Croydon, it's a complete lie - and writing turns out to be much harder than he'd imagined!
Bill, meanwhile, sets out for London to make his name, with his wife, Anne, and children not far behind. Disillusioned and at a loss as to how to find his way in the bustling Tudor city, a chance meeting in a pub with a fellow writer and part-time thespian, Christopher Marlowe, seems to provide the young Shakespeare with just the guidance he needs...
It's a tale of murderous kings, spies, lost loves, and a plot to blow up Queen Elizabeth. Can one man prove the quill is mightier than the sword?
Bill - Trailer
Stream and download
Additional details
Tagline
Where there's a quill, there's a way!
UK certificate
PG
Duration
94 minutes
UK release
Friday 18th September 2015
Production
Location
Camera set-up
Single camera
Picture
Colour
Soundtrack
Music performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Website links
Broadcast details
Most recent repeats
- Saturday 29th June 2024 at 10:00am on CBBC
- Saturday 11th May 2024 at 2:00pm on BBC1
- Friday 5th January 2024 at 8:55am on CBBC