Slings and Arrows 

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

23 wins & 31 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
Oliver Dennis	...	Jerry 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
Leon Pownall	...	Brian 12 episodes, 2003-2005
Rothaford Gray	...	Nahum 11 episodes, 2003-2006
Seán Cullen	...	Basil 10 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.

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Plot Keywords:

theatre festival | magical realism | reference to william shakespeare | canadian | backstage | 

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Taglines:

The real show is backstage.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Official Sites:

Movie Central - Season 2 Movie Network

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 November 2003 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Пращи и стрелы

Filming Locations:

Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts, Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rhombus Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The fictional town of New Burbage and its theater festival are presumably named after Richard Burbage, and actor-manager who was the star of many original Shakespeare plays and who spearheaded, in 1597, the construction of the original Globe theater in London.

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Quotes

Cyril: [about Geoffrey] He's doing the rounds. He saw the Chekov on Tuesday. He was at the Dream last night.
Frank: No!
Cyril: Yeah. There he was. Third raw from the back. Head burried in his hands like he lost a brother in the war.
Frank: Crikey. He wouldn't recast, would he?
Cyril: Not the Dream, no. But God knows what he'll do with Oliver's Hamlet. Play the lead himself.
Frank: You think?
Cyril: Oh, why not? It was the play that drow him mad. Seven years ago. I saw it all with me own eyes. Halfway through the gravedigger scene he suddenly ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in In Depth: Ben Shapiro (2013)

User Reviews

One of the best things I've ever seen on TV.

Intelligent, witty, insightful writing that each and every actor clearly loves having the chance to deliver. Fully-rounded, complex characters, examined with insight and empathy. A deep love and rich understanding of life in the theater, with all its excitement and pitfalls. Perfectly paced, with a pleasing balance between comedy and drama. It's so rare to see a work that treats its subject, characters, actors, and audience with so much respect. Very few shows have made me care so much about how everything would turn out, or left me so satisfied at the final fade-out. This is one I look forward to seeing again and again.