Press clippings Page 12
Mark Rylance ridiculed by upstarts
If he watches the BBC comedy series Upstart Crow this week he may well ask himself the same question.
Valentine Low, The Times, 11th September 2018Upstart Crow: Shakespeare sitcom is really educational
Making Shakespeare relevant for contemporary society is often the work of theatre directors, scholars and teachers. But this is what the comedian Ben Elton has tried to achieve in his BBC comedy Upstart Crow, the third series of which is soon to begin.
Sarah Dustagheer, The Conversation, 29th August 2018TV preview: Upstart Crow, Series Three, BBC2
David Mitchell returns as aspiring playwright/superstar William Shakespeare in Ben Elton's return-to-form sitcom. I say return-to-form with a couple of caveats.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 29th August 2018Upstart Crow, series 3 episode 1 review
An astute way to reinvent our love for toilet humour.
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph, 29th August 2018Upstart Crow - TV review
Some gags could fall flat without the laughter of a studio audience.
Gerald Gilbert, i Newspaper, 29th August 2018David Mitchell and Ben Elton quiz each other
A new series of Upstart Crow, starring David Mitchell as Shakespeare and written by Ben Elton, begins this week. They talk life, love and drinking too much.
Ben Elton & David Mitchell, The Guardian, 26th August 2018Ben Elton interview
"What would my 20-year-old self make of me now? He'd be thrilled."
Gerald Gilbert, i Newspaper, 12th July 2018Why Blackadder writers reinvented him after series one
35 years ago, it's fair to say that the now-beloved sitcom was a very different beast to begin with.
Mark Butler, i Newspaper, 13th June 2018How The Young Ones Changed Comedy, Gold, review
A stroppy punk-rock sitcom has aged well.
Jeff Robson, i Newspaper, 27th May 2018A deliriously good, feature-length look at the fourth-wall-breaking, everything-breaking sitcom that changed TV comedy for ever. Hilariously, the clueless BBC higher-uppers demanded Ben Elton write them an actual essay explaining why it was funny before they'd deign to commission it.
Ali Catterall, The Guardian, 26th May 2018