FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Documentary “The Stuff of Dreams” to Premiere on Netflix UK
London, UK – After years of battling against the art establishment, window cleaner Steven Wadlow is finally ready to prove his discovery of a portrait of William Shakespeare, worth an estimated two hundred million pounds. The documentary, produced by Barkingmad TV and directed by Madoc Roberts, will be available for streaming on Netflix UK starting March 21st.
Wadlow’s journey began eleven years ago when he stumbled upon a painting hanging above a television for forty years. He believed it to be a genuine portrait of Shakespeare, but it was not the traditional image of the bard. The man in the painting was aged 31, with hair and no beard. However, Wadlow was convinced that he had proof that it was the only portrait painted during Shakespeare’s lifetime.
One expert has suggested, “if it were proven to be Shakespeare, it could be worth anything from 100 to 200 million, which is obviously worth investigating further.”
The portrait, which initially scared Wadlow, underwent extensive scientific analysis at some of the world’s leading art institutions, including the Hamilton Kerr Institute and UCL. Cutting-edge technology revealed underdrawings and overpainting that had been added to disguise the true identity of the sitter. Despite Wadlow’s fears that the painting could be exposed as a fake, it passed every test.
Wadlow’s father had bought the painting for £900 from art restorers working on the Great Tew estate in the 1960s. Today, the estate near Banbury is known for its celebrity residents, including the Beckhams, Simon Cowell, Claudia Winkleman, Prince Harry, and Megan Markle.
Further research by Wadlow revealed that the manor house on the estate had once been home to a missing portrait of Shakespeare. Art experts believe that this vanished portrait was used as the model for the earliest engraving of Shakespeare, which appeared on the first folio of his plays printed in 1623. Wadlow’s portrait shared many similarities with this missing portrait, including being painted in 1595 when Shakespeare was 31.
However, Wadlow faced a significant obstacle – the art establishment refused to accept a portrait of Shakespeare with hair and no beard. Undeterred, Wadlow turned to cutting-edge facial recognition technology, which showed that his portrait was closer to the engraving than all the other more famous portraits that claim to be of Shakespeare.
Despite facing closed doors and feeling like he was banging his head against a wall, Wadlow persisted in his search for answers. It became an obsession to prove the doubters wrong, and he learned that patience is key.
“Just when you think you’ve hit a brick wall, something comes along,” Wadlow said.
That something was a call from Lumiere technology of Paris. Lumiere, known for handling thousands of the greatest artworks in the world, including the Mona Lisa, used their multispectral technique to reveal a previously undiscovered earlier version of the famous smile.
With the portrait under his arm, Wadlow traveled to Paris, where the French experts made a startling conclusion. They believed that Wadlow’s portrait depicted Shakespeare as an actor, possibly playing a role in one of his own plays.
“The conformity with the mouth, I am 100% sure this is the same. For me, it really is a portrait of Shakespeare,” said the expert.
Wadlow was stunned by the results, saying, “That was an amazing day. After all these years and all the debates about whether it is Shakespeare or not, we have the company that discovered the underdrawings on the Mona Lisa saying that our painting is Shakespeare. You just can’t get better than that.”
To learn more about Steven Wadlow’s incredible discovery, viewers can watch “The Stuff of Dreams” on Netflix UK from March 21st. For interviews, clips, and stills from the film, please contact madoc@barkingmad.tv or ring Producer/Director Madoc Roberts at 07715947801.
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.