Will Shakespeare (TV series)

Will Shakespeare
Also known as	Life of Shakespeare William Shakespeare: His Life & Times
Created by	John Mortimer
Written by	John Mortimer
Directed by	Mark Cullingham Robert Knights
Starring	Tim Curry Ian McShane Nicholas Clay Lynette Davies Paul Freeman John Normington Ron Cook Richard Cordery Ronald Herdman Roger Lloyd-Pack
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	6
Production
Producer(s)	Cecil Clarke Lorna Mason (associate producer) Peter Roden (co-producer)
Production company(s)	ATV, RAI
Distributor	BWE Video
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	13 June – 18 July 1978

Will Shakespeare, also known as Life of Shakespeare and William Shakespeare: His Life & Times, was a 1978 historical drama series created and written by John Mortimer. Broadcast in six parts, the series is a dramatisation of the life and times of the great poet William Shakespeare, played by Tim Curry, and was co-produced by Lew Grade's ATV and RAI and distributed internationally by ITC. The two production companies had collaborated successfully the previous year on Jesus of Nazareth.

Each episode was based around the creation of a single play, and the idea of Shakespeare's real life experiences influencing his writing was used as the central plot device. As there are few known facts about the life of Shakespeare, Mortimer embellished upon known stories or legends about the playwright's life. These included a supposed apprenticeship with Christopher Marlowe and a homoerotic relationship with the Earl of Southampton.

Mortimer also invented a character whom the Dark Lady of Shakespeare's sonnets was supposedly based upon. The wife of a judge, she falls in love with Shakespeare after seeing his performance as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, adding a secondary storyline elaborating on class divisions.

In 1977 Hodder and Stoughton Ltd published Will Shakespeare as written by John Mortimer, author of the Rumpole series. Coronet published the paperback edition in 1977,

The series was initially released on VHS home video under the title William Shakespeare: His Life & Times. A Region 1 DVD release of the series, by A & E television, was released in 2008, simply titled Will Shakespeare. Network Studio released a Region 2 DVD of the series in 2009 under the same title.

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