“To be or not to be, that is the question.”
Shakespeare, the man who had a way with words, was born to achieve greatness.
The greatest writer to ever walk this Earth is finally getting a makeover on July 10, as TNT will debut Shakespeare as Will, a man of the streets. The first two episodes of “Will” will showcase Shakespeare’s earliest years in his early twenties. Writer, Craig Pearce, brings a steampunk taste to the Elizabethan era we are all too familiar with.
With Pearce as Baz Luhrmann’s longtime writing partner, it is no surprise that “Will” takes a similar approach to the 96’ version of Romeo & Juliet or even the quirky Moulin Rouge.
Bright colored hair, girls sporting pixie cuts, the era seems a little more British punk circa 1980’s.
The opening scene quickly approaches Shakespeare played by Laurie Davidson writing vigorously as his three children sleep and his wife who scholars believe to be Anne Hathaway comes in looking disappointed.
He says to her, “I can’t spend the rest of my life making gloves.”
And from that moment on, Shakespeare leaves his family behind to the whirlwind of London to pursue his dreams of becoming a famous writer.
The Clash’s “London Calling” perfectly plays in the background as he is stuck in a new era to be free. The electric guitar riff sets the mood for the rest of the episode.
Finally we see a handsome young innocent Will taken aback from the craziness London offers, but it intrigues him as he knocks on the door of the local theater to show his play.
As he struggles to find a voice for himself and a new love interest Alice, played by Olivia DeJonge, Will is also amidst a Catholic controversy. Since it is the time that Catholics were much hated in London.
Instead of ruff on the clothing and boring old 16th-century stuff, Pearce brings a new twist to Shakespeare with mosh pits and spunk.
Twilight’s Jamie Campbell Bower stars as famous writer, Christopher Marlowe, who seems to help Will in a time of need, but what little to reveal, we all know is Shakespeare’s rival.
This show seems to have it all from sex, action, a little mid-century history and a poetic rap battle between William and Elizabethan cocky writer, Robert Greene.
Catch the first two episodes on TNT on July 10.
