Slings and Arrows (2003–2006)

In the fictional town of New Burbage, legendary theatrical madman Geoffrey Tennant returns to the New Burbage Theatre Festival, the site of his greatest triumph and most humiliating failure... See full summary »

Creators:

Susan Coyne, Bob Martin, Mark McKinney

Stars:

Paul Gross, Martha Burns, Stephen Ouimette

22 wins & 28 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Paul Gross	...	Geoffrey Tennant (18 episodes, 2003-2006)
Martha Burns	...	Ellen Fanshaw (18 episodes, 2003-2006)
Stephen Ouimette	...	Oliver Welles (18 episodes, 2003-2006)
Susan Coyne	...	Anna Conroy (18 episodes, 2003-2006)
Don McKellar	...	Darren Nichols (18 episodes, 2003-2006)
Mark McKinney	...	Richard Smith-Jones (18 episodes, 2003-2006)
Graham Harley	...	Cyril (17 episodes, 2003-2006)
Michael Polley	...	Frank (17 episodes, 2003-2006)
Catherine Fitch	...	Maria (17 episodes, 2003-2006)
Rothaford Gray	...	Nahum (11 episodes, 2003-2006)
Oliver Dennis	...	Jerry (11 episodes, 2005-2006)
Sean Cullen	...	Basil (9 episodes, 2003-2005)
Matt Fitzgerald	...	Sloan (8 episodes, 2003-2005)

Storyline

In the fictional town of New Burbage, legendary theatrical madman Geoffrey Tennant returns to the New Burbage Theatre Festival, the site of his greatest triumph and most humiliating failure, to assume the artistic directorship after the sudden death of his mentor, Oliver Welles. When Geoffrey arrives he finds that Oliver is still there, in spirit anyway, and with his guidance (and often in spite of it) Geoffrey attempts to reconcile with his past while wrestling the festival back from the marketing department. Despite a bitter leading lady, a clueless leading man, and a scheming general manager, he manages to stage a remarkable production of Hamlet -- the play that drove him mad.

---

Plot Keywords:

theatre festival | mentor | theatre | theatre group | sitcom | 

---

Taglines:

The real show is backstage.

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Details

Official Sites:

Movie Central - Season 2 Movie Network

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 November 2003 (Canada)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rhombus Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Gross plays Geoffrey Tennant, a stage actor best known (before his mental breakdown) for his performance as Hamlet. In an episode of Due South titled "A Hawk and a Handsaw", Gross' character Benton pretends to be insane, not unlike the character of Hamlet. The name of the episode comes from a line in Hamlet where he tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he can "tell a hawk from a handsaw" - that he is sane.

---

Quotes

Cyril: [singing, with friend joining in on the chorus] Cheer up, Hamlet; chin up, Hamlet; buck up, you melancholy Dane! So your uncle is a cad who murdered Dad and married Mum. That's really no excuse to be as glum as you've become! So wise up, Hamlet; rise up, Hamlet; perk up and sing a new refrain. Your incessant monologizing fills the castle with ennui. Your antic disposition is embarrassing to see. And by the way, you sulky brat, the answer is to be! You're driving poor Ophelia insane. So shut up, ...

---

Connections

Remade as Sound & Fury (2009)

User Reviews

Simply Wonderful!

I don't have much to say about this series other than it is one of the best television series of all time! Anyone who has the slightest appreciation for Shakespeare or the theatre in general will get instantly hooked on this series, each season having one of Shakespeare's major tragedies at it's focus. Paul Gross proves himself to be one of the most underrated actors working to day as the brilliant Geoffrey Tennant, and his real life wife Martha Burns is wonderful as star actress Ellen Fanshaw. Stephen Ouimette Steals every scene he's in as the ghost of former Artistic Director Oliver Wells, and in season one there's excellent work from Luke Kirby and a pre-Notebook Rachel McAdams. If you haven't seen this series yet, go buy the DVD immediately!