Slings and Arrows
cassandra
location: at the Home for the Bewildered
listening to: old stuff, new stuff, borrowed stuff, blue stuff
registered: 2003.03.17
posts: 1538
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I wrote this for a blog - but I continue to love the show so much that I
want to urge all of you to search it out:GET THEE TO (NOT) SUFFER “SLINGS AND ARROWS”This is not a review. But it is a five-star, two thumbs’ up recommendation.
Somehow the three seasons of the Canadian television series “Slings and Arrows” had not made it onto my radar until I heard a story on NPR. Although shown on The Sundance Channel in the United States, I’ll wager that most of you have not heard about it either,It is, without question, the best depiction of actors, the acting process, the role of director, the challenges and rewards of not-for-profit theatre, the commitment and passion of the staff that keeps it all going and the balance of art and commerce. It also, astoundingly, makes one want to rush out and see a stage production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, HAMLET or MACBETH as soon as possible. Did I mention that it’s incredibly funny, damn sexy and smart? Well, it’s incredibly funny, damn sexy and smart.It’s set at the New Burbage Festival (a fictional theatre somewhat similar to the renown Stratford Festival). Its creators were Kids in the Hall member Mark McKinney, playwright and actress Susan Coyne, and Bob Martin, who is the Tony-award winning co-creator of THE DROWSY CHAPERONE. McKinney, Coyne and Martin are standout performers as well as creators and writers. In the initial episode, the theatre’s artistic director (who reappears as a ghost in true Shakespearean fashion in subsequent episodes) is run down by a truck, which carries the company motto “Canada’s Best Hams.” Take it from there.The cast of Canadian actors is first rate, especially (but not limited to) Paul Gross, Martha Burns and Stephen Ouimette. The names that you may recognize include Sarah Polley (star of THE SWEET HEREAFTER and director of this year’s acclaimed film AWAY FROM HER) and Rachel McAdams (THE WEDDING CRASHERS) but the entire cast deserves far wider recognition.Three seasons. Six episodes each. Rent it from NetFlix, buy it from Amazon. Just don’t miss it.
It’s the only series I’ve ever purchased from Amazon; I couldn’t watch it fast enough and my husband (who usually watches the Yankees) watched it on his own to catch up with me. (Full disclosure: he is a Broadway stagehand; but it made him laugh out loud.)It’s a labor of love, definitely not lost, and a love letter to the theatre that knows its subject intimately (warts and all) that depicts the classics and the creative process as exciting, relevant and, yes, incredibly funny, damn sexy and smart.
C
cassandra
(view)
I wrote this for a blog - but I continue to love the show so much that I
want to urge all of you to search it out:GET THEE TO (NOT) SUFFER “SLINGS AND ARROWS”This is not a review. But it is a five-star, two thumbs’ up recommendation.
Somehow the three seasons of the Canadian television series “Slings and Arrows” had not made it onto my radar until I heard a story on NPR. Although shown on The Sundance Channel in the United States, I’ll wager that most of you have not heard about it either,It is, without question, the best depiction of actors, the acting process, the role of director, the challenges and rewards of not-for-profit theatre, the commitment and passion of the staff that keeps it all going and the balance of art and commerce. It also, astoundingly, makes one want to rush out and see a stage production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, HAMLET or MACBETH as soon as possible. Did I mention that it’s incredibly funny, damn sexy and smart? Well, it’s incredibly funny, damn sexy and smart.It’s set at the New Burbage Festival (a fictional theatre somewhat similar to the renown Stratford Festival). Its creators were Kids in the Hall member Mark McKinney, playwright and actress Susan Coyne, and Bob Martin, who is the Tony-award winning co-creator of THE DROWSY CHAPERONE. McKinney, Coyne and Martin are standout performers as well as creators and writers. In the initial episode, the theatre’s artistic director (who reappears as a ghost in true Shakespearean fashion in subsequent episodes) is run down by a truck, which carries the company motto “Canada’s Best Hams.” Take it from there.The cast of Canadian actors is first rate, especially (but not limited to) Paul Gross, Martha Burns and Stephen Ouimette. The names that you may recognize include Sarah Polley (star of THE SWEET HEREAFTER and director of this year’s acclaimed film AWAY FROM HER) and Rachel McAdams (THE WEDDING CRASHERS) but the entire cast deserves far wider recognition.Three seasons. Six episodes each. Rent it from NetFlix, buy it from Amazon. Just don’t miss it.
It’s the only series I’ve ever purchased from Amazon; I couldn’t watch it fast enough and my husband (who usually watches the Yankees) watched it on his own to catch up with me. (Full disclosure: he is a Broadway stagehand; but it made him laugh out loud.)It’s a labor of love, definitely not lost, and a love letter to the theatre that knows its subject intimately (warts and all) that depicts the classics and the creative process as exciting, relevant and, yes, incredibly funny, damn sexy and smart.
