Horrible Histories team to make spoof Shakespeare movie

The team behind Horrible Histories is making a new comedy film about William Shakespeare ‘in the style of Monty Python’.

The six lead actors in Horrible Histories – Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond – will all play multiple roles in the movie, called Bill.

Willbond and Rickard wrote the script, which is being produced by BBC FIlms, and set to begin filming later this year.

Bill tells the story of how hopeless lute player Bill Shakespeare leaves his family and home to ‘follow his dream’... while encountering murderous kings, spies, lost loves, and a plot to blow up Queen Elizabeth.

The writers say it is ‘a comedy adventure for all the family. We're playing with history, just as Shakespeare did, for the entertainment of the audience. And we like to think he'd be OK with it. Apart from the bit where he's dressed as a tomato.

Christine Langan, head of BBC Films, added: ‘We’re thrilled [to be] making the first film starring this team of incredibly talented and popular British comedy writers and performers.’

In 2011, Horrible Histories became the first children’s show to win a British Comedy Award, when it scooped the sketch show title.

Here is the team’s former take on the Bard:

Published: 13 May 2013