Wolf Hall Screenwriter Peter Straughan Sets Tale of Shakespeares First Folio as Next

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Peter Straughan, who adapted Hilary Mantel’s prize-winning historical novel “Wolf Hall” for screen has set the story of William Shakespeare’s first folio as his next project.

Produced by Bonafide Films and Runaway Fridge Productions with the support of Film4, “Folio” will recount how a collection of Shakespeare’s works were assembled seven years after his death and preserved for future generations.

“Four hundred years on from its original publication, ‘Folio’ follows the journey of Shakespeare’s former Kings Men colleagues – actors John Heminges and Henry Condell – as they embark on a picaresque road trip through an England on the brink of Puritanism and gather the material to keep their friend’s work and memory alive,” reads the logline.

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Historians believe that had it not been for Heminges and Condell’s efforts, half of Shakespeare’s works would not be known to us today.

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Straughan has written a screenplay in collaboration with John and David Lightbody, who first conceived the project with their late father, actor John Lightbody Snr. “When John and David first told me about Heminges and Condell, I was instantly drawn to the story of two retired actors on a tragi-comic journey across Elizabethan England, trying to hold onto their past glory in a shifting world that threatens to extinguish their great friend’s legacy and with it their way of life,” said Straughan.

Managing director of Bonafide Margery Bone said: “Peter is one of the best screenwriters in the business, and we are fortunate enough to be collaborating with him on a number of projects including the wonderful ‘Folio’ which is such a timely story with the recent anniversary. To work with him and the incredibly knowledgeable John and David Lightbody on this script about the story of these little-known literary heroes is a real coup. Everybody knows of Shakespeare but very few know of Heminges and Condell, and yet they’re the reason that we are able to enjoy many of his plays over 400 years later – it feels good to give them the spotlight they so rightly deserve.”

Stevie Lee, MD of Runaway Fridge Productions added: “Shakespeare still has such a grip on our imaginations – through his works of course, but also through the mystery of his life. What would it have been like to actually know him, to have been in his orbit? I’m so pleased to be working with Peter again as we explore the legacy of this extraordinary man.”

Straughan is repped by Casarotto Ramsay & Associates.

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