‘Will’ reimagines Shakespeare’s story on TNT
Brush up on your Shakespeare. “Will” (9 p.m., TNT, TV-MA) offers a bawdy new twist on the Bard’s story, blending period history about the religious civil strife of Elizabethan England with a punk-rock soundtrack and attitude right out of the late 1970s.
Newcomer Laurie Davidson plays the young William Shakespeare, first seen with wife and children in a rural backwater. Mrs. S. is none too pleased that he’s leaving a steady job as a glove maker to seek his fortune in London’s seedy theater district. Before he leaves, a relative asks him to deliver a secret message to a Catholic rebel, a mission that risks the wrath of the ruthless Protestant enforcer Richard Topcliffe (Ewen Bremner, “Trainspotting”).
Naturally, young Will insinuates himself with London’s wild stage scene, dominated by theater owner and scoundrel James Burbage (Colm Meaney). He quickly wins the heart (and mind) of Burbage’s daughter Alice (Olivia DeJonge), who chafes against the limitations placed on her gender even as a woman sits on England’s throne.
Burbage’s theater is a wild mass of color and riotous orgy. The performances are pure anarchy, particularly when accompanied by punk-rock standards. Theater posters also evoke the crude and powerful graphics of that particular period.
As Will enters the fray, playwright Christopher Marlowe (Jamie Campbell Bower) is the star of the theater world. And Bower plays him like a rock star. Marlowe moonlights as a spy for the puritanical Topcliffe, who sees theater as a sinful excess.
The decision to play up young Shakespeare’s part in the Catholic-Protestant divide of the period is illuminating. The gimmick of playing The Clash’s “London Calling” as Will makes his way to town adds nothing to the proceedings.
The whole punk angle seems beside the point, if not decidedly wrong. A scene where young Will engages in a contest of wits and iambic pentameter with a pompous college wit seems more like a rap battle or a poetry slam than anything to do with the Sex Pistols. The short-lived punk era was very much defined by a deliberate contempt for technical proficiency. That can’t be said for the future Bard of Avon.
Davidson makes an impressive debut, bringing a wide-eyed innocence that stands in contrast to both the libidinous excesses of Burbage’s milieu and Topcliffe’s cruel machinations. We might feel protective of this young poet if we didn’t already know that he had quite the career ahead of him.
At its best, “Will” mingles the romantic whimsy of “Shakespeare in Love” with the brooding history of “Elizabeth.” A sprawling, engaging and expensive-looking production, this period fantasy is a bit of a departure for TNT. It should be interesting to see how it pans out. “Reign,” the CW’s take on the Mary vs. Elizabeth saga, just concluded after four low-rated seasons. ABC just moved its “Fakes-speare” effort “Still StarCrossed” to Saturday nights. It has been replaced tonight with “The Gong Show.” Now that’s an insult that’s sharper than a serpent’s tooth!
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