. . . for the past fifteen years or so, we have driven the 450 miles from Seattle to Ashland, Oregon, to spend a week at the OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL; we see eight or nine plays over the week, usually four written by The Bard, a couple of new plays, and a couple of classic works . . . as you are sitting there, you cannot help but wonder what it must be like to put on something this massive - it runs from February until November or so, during the summer months they put on five plays a day using three theaters; really beyond belief . . . well, now we need wonder no longer as a group of Canadian actors/writers (no doube influenced by the experience of performing at the STRATFORD FESTIVAL OF CANADA near Toronto) has created an absolutely wonderful television series called SLINGS & ARROWS (three seasons, six chapters per season) which is now available on R1 DVD (it did run on the SUNDANCE CHANNEL, but was easy to miss) which goes behind the scenes at the NEW BURBAGE SHAKESPEAREAN FESTIVAL to show us the on again off again on again romance, humor, clashing egos, to say nothing of the horror, of trying to put together a production of HAMLET (season 1), MACBETH (season 2) and KING LEAR (season 3), while trying to keep the other shows running at the same time, and fending off a season sponsor from Texas trying to engineer a coup who wants to turn NEW BURBAGE into a theme park and present Broadway Musicals (MAMA MIA is her personal favorite), or a cutting edge advertising agency whose cutting edge ads cause thousands to cancel their subcriptions, or an exciting young director who has no interest in Shakespeare but loves production values, or the fact that everyone seems to be mad at everyone else for some reason or other - oh, the recently dead former Artistic Director keeps popping up and putting in his two cents regarding the current productions and driving the (already unstable - he sucks on razor blades) director/new Artistic Director crazy . . . this series is filled with the sort of slighty dotty people who used to inhabit Ealing Studio comedies, and enjoys a lead performance from Paul Gross (he plays an actor who lost it during his turn as HAMLET, ended up jumping into Ophelia's grave, and gave up acting to become the director of a way, way off-BURBAGE theater that is very financially unstable as we begin season one), who returns to NEW BURBAGE to fill in as Artistic Director; Mr. Gross is exactly the sort of strong leading man Hollywood could use - oh, the first season (2003) also has nice work by Rachel McAdams before her move to Hollywood, the third season (2006) features Sarah Polley, and the rest of the rather large cast (and writers) keep things running smoothly for the entire eighteen chapters . . . if you want something a little bit different (the Canadians appear to have the ability to use language and limited nudity along the same lines as the British without raising the wrath of the powers that be, unless this was some sort of series produced for cable), give this one a rental . . .

Wonderful show, which I've recommended before. It's still sighted on Sundance and captured a cult there. The talent also conceived the Broadway hit (but West End flop) THE DROWSY CHAPERONE.