John Oldcastle
Sir John Oldcastle was a contemporary of William Shakespeare (TV: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (TV story)"]) and the inspiration for his character of Falstaff. (TV: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (TV story)"], PROSE: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (novelisation)"])
Following Falstaff's appearance in Shakespeare's latest play up to that point, (PROSE: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (novelisation)"]) Queen Elizabeth I summoned Shakespeare to court because the character had caused concern to Oldcastle (TV: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (TV story)"]) and she asked Shakespeare to confirm the similarity. He was fearful of Elizabeth's reaction to his affirmative answer, (TV: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (TV story)"], PROSE: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (novelisation)"]) asking Francis Bacon if she was angry before their audience began (TV: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (TV story)"]) and briefly wondering about his chances of living to pen another line. However, he ultimately decided telling the truth was his best course of action (PROSE: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (novelisation)"]) and admitted the fact. Elizabeth simply told him to pay it no further thought, (TV: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (TV story)"], PROSE: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (novelisation)"]) saying she found it "very amusing". (TV: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (TV story)"]) She proceeded to discuss ideas for a further play featuring Falstaff, (TV: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (TV story)"], PROSE: The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (novelisation)"]) resulting in the commission of The Merry Wives of Windsor. (PROSE: Apocrypha Bipedium [+]Loading...["Apocrypha Bipedium (short story)"])
Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]
The exchange between Elizabeth I and William Shakespeare in the broadcast version of The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (TV story)"] presents a historical inaccuracy as Oldcastle died over a century prior to both of their births. In the real world, it was one of his descendants, Lord Cobham, who complained about the character of Falstaff. The novelisation of the story altered the dialogue slightly to remove the suggestion that Oldcastle was alive in Elizabethan times.
