Slings and Arrows

I found this terrific series by accident on The Sundance Channel. I watched the first few minutes, was completely sucked in and then ecstatic when I discovered it was an actual series and there were more episodes than the one I had just watched! For those of you out there who loved Paul Gross in the Tales of the City mini-series you must watch this show!! He is wonderfully lost and adorably manic as Geoffrey Tennant returning to a world he thought he had come to hate, but in essence loves so much he can't live without it. But he is not the only gem on this show. All the characters, although they seem like clichés at first, are in truth, impeccably written and wonderfully acted. Shakespeare lovers, or just theater lovers in general will drown in happiness when watching this look behind the curtain.

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.

"Slings and Arrows" is a Canadian comedy in the vein of those great six or eight episode miniseries that British TV does so well. Take all the good bits of a thirteen or twenty-two episode season and condense them into six or eight hours, perfect for a couple of DVDs.

Maverick theatre director Geoffrey Tennant learns that his alienated mentor has died, and he returns to his stomping grounds, the moribund New Burbage Shakespeare Festival. There he reluctantly takes over directing the latest in a line of bloated, limp productions of Shakespeare plays that nobody watches.

The corporate sponsors want to turn the festival into a venue for musicals, his Hamlet's previous experience is action movies, his Ophelia thinks being insane is the same as being stoned, his Gertrude is his ex-lover who hates him, and he has no money for sets or costumes. As if that wasn't enough, there's a chameleon prowling around the theatre and Geoffrey's mentor his haunting him.

The plot is loosely based on Hamlet, of course: a man returns home and finds it overrun with corruption, hypocrisy and indifference, setting off an existential crisis. This time the crisis is about the point of doing live theatre, when both the actors and the audience are going through the motions. As Geoffrey's rival observes, "More people listen to the radio than go to the theatre, and nobody listens to the radio." The biggest problem is that Jeffrey's production isn't the revelation it's supposed to be. The non-sets, the lack of special effects and anachronistic costumes, doing it the way the Bard did it at the Globe, isn't terribly original. When the action star does Hamlet's soliloquy, it's just a handsome guy saying the words.

At any rate, the backstage rivalries, romances and reconciliations are what we're really here to see. Even the secondary players get to shine in fine parts: a corporate bitch bent on turning the festival into ShakespeareLand, an egomaniacal theatre director with a fake injury, a passive-aggressive theatre journalist, a pizza delivery guy/motorcycle racer who courts Jeffrey's ex, a wise backstage manager, a Greek chorus of two old theatre queens, a pair of owlish undertakers, and more.

It's both funny and compelling, and I look forward to the rumored second season.

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!

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.