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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

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)

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

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 (1994) 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

Sloan: Okay, so why'd you kick another guy's ass for disparaging a girl you're not even with any more?
Geoffrey Tennant: Do you love Ellen?
Sloan: Fuckin' right!
Geoffrey Tennant: Well, if you feel the same way now as I did seven years ago, then you're going to spend the rest of your life kicking other people's asses for her whether you're with her or not. That's just how truly horrible life can be.

---

Connections

Referenced in In Depth: Ben Shapiro (2013)

User Reviews

Brilliant!

I can not praise this show enough. It portrays every character and situation with a cutting accuracy, which may seem ludicrous at first glance, but is actually not exaggerated in the slightest. A director who just doesn't care about the details, an actress who's the star of the show... and knows it. A holier-than-thou leading actress who's missing one thing- talent, a lonely understudy and a movie star trying to prove himself; what else can you ask for?

Paul Gross's performance is stunning, and for those of us who saw his 'Hamlet' (which he actually acted in at the alternate reality setting of the show- the Stratford Festival) laughter abounds. People who watch Slings and Arrows will laugh. Actors or Theatre Goers who watch Slings and Arrows will be rolling on the floor within seconds.

Two thumbs up and a standing ovation- Paul Gross, I applaud you to the very echo.