The players of TV’s terrific Horrible Histories romp their way through this entertaining mash-up of Shakespeare in Love and Blackadder II. Mathew Baynton is the titular Bill Shakespeare, recently ditched by lute-beat combo Mortal Coil, now off to make his mark as a London playwright. Encounters with Christopher Marlowe and the Earl of Croydon open theatrical doors, although the real behind-the-scenes director is Spain’s King Phillip II (Ben Willbond, co-writing with Laurence Rickard), who’s planning to kill Helen McCrory’s frazzle-toothed Elizabeth. Nicely balancing its historically literate gags with broad knockabout slapstick, Bill is a crowd-pleasing treat that should tickle audiences young and old alike.
