Bill

Baynton, Farnaby, Willbond, Rickard (et al.) are possibly my favourite British ensemble group. Their comedy is a blend of slapstick and historical, and they are consistently funny. Bill is their take on Shakespeare and the Spanish "inconvenience". While not at all accurate, there are plenty of jokes and enough of them land that it is an enjoyable 90 minutes. The real strength is the cast who cycle through a myriad of characters.

From the team behind the highly entertaining BBC children's show Horrible Histories, this follows a young Shakespeare foiling a Spanish plot to kill the queen. It's nowhere near as sharp or funny as the series, with the gags often falling flat and the story lacking sufficient wackiness, and it makes only scant reference to the Bard's actual life and works. It has its moments, but this kind of comedy really works better in a sketch show.

Lightweight Will.....

I laughed all the way through this, one of the funniest comedies I've seen in a while.