"Slings and Arrows" (2003) TV series 2003-2006

User Rating:

8.9/10   

Creators:

Susan Coyne
Bob Martin
Mark McKinney

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

3 November 2003 (Canada)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The real show is backstage.

Plot:

In the fictional town of New Burbage, legendary theatrical madman Geoffrey Tennant returns to the New Burbage Theatre Festival...

Plot Keywords:

Theatre | Mentor | Theatre Audience | Play Within Film | Theatre Production

Awards:

21 wins & 27 nominations

Cast

Martha Burns	...	Ellen Fanshaw (18 episodes, 2003-2006)
Paul Gross	...	Geoffrey Tennant (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)
Stephen Ouimette	...	Oliver Welles (17 episodes, 2003-2006)
Susan Coyne	...	Anna Conroy (17 episodes, 2003-2006)
Graham Harley	...	Cyril (16 episodes, 2003-2006)
Michael Polley	...	Frank (16 episodes, 2003-2006)
Catherine Fitch	...	Maria (16 episodes, 2003-2006)
Leon Pownall	...	Brian (12 episodes, 2003-2005)
Rothaford Gray	...	Nahum (9 episodes, 2003-2005)
Sean Cullen	...	Basil (9 episodes, 2003-2005)
Matt Fitzgerald	...	Sloan (8 episodes, 2003-2005)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Australia:M | Canada:A

Company:

Rhombus Media

Trivia:

The fictional town of New Burbage and it's 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.

Quotes:

Anna Conroy: [holding Oliver's skull] It's not that heavy at all!
Geoffrey Tennant: It's much lighter without the ego.

Simply well done

I quite enjoyed watching 'Slings and Arrows' on TMN this past season, and must say - it was a delight to finally see something strikingly original and drop down funny on the telly. It was well received, by the audiences who knew of its existence, but lacked any sort of advertisement and flare that HBO shows get. It's been too long since something like this has been tried, and it sure as hell stacks up to the HBO shows any day. Paul Gross has finally shown he as as good an actor as he is a looker. The characters are thoughtfully developed and the plot line is kept alive by the fast-moving pace of this Stratford-like festival. A perfect score all the way.