[.ca] Slings and Arrows: Season 2

Geoffrey and the New Burbage gang take on the Scottish play:
Call me superstitious or cowardly or weak But I'll never play a character Whose name one dare not speak I'll play Hamlet In doublet and hose Or either of the Dromeos But sorry, I won't play Mackers I'll play Richard the Third With a hump and wig Or Henry the Eighth That selfish pig But sorry, I don't do Mackers Every soul who plays this role Risks injury or death I'd rather sweep the bloody stage Then ever do Mac-you-know-who When I watched the first three episodes of Season 2 of "Slings & Arrows" on the first of these two DVDS I have to admit that I was wondering what happened to the series. Like those of us with a background in the theater, I fell in love with the New Burbage Theatre Festival and its madman artistic director Geoffrey Tennant (Paul Gross). If his bouts with mental problems were not enough, Geoffrey is saddled with a leading lady, Ellen Fanshaw (Martha Burns), who is his once (and perhaps future) girl friend and the ghost of Oliver Welles (Stephen Ouimette), his predecessor whose sudden death got him his current gig. The first season was all about staging "Hamlet" with a television star as the melancholy Dane, while the second season finds Geoffrey tackling the Scottish play (hence the title song, "Mackers," quoted above). But Geoffrey is running around dealing with not only Oliver's ghost and all those notebooks his predecessor left behind about directing the play, which gives plenty of time for the associated curse to wreck some havoc. The good news is that when we get to the second half of the season on the second DVD, "Slings & Arrows" is totally back on track, but a bit too late to deserve the same 5 star rating as Season 1. That is because in the final three episodes we finally get deep into the staging of the play in question, as Geoffrey finally makes a connection to the play and connects with the play and then has to find a way to persuade if not coerce his lead, the ego maniacal Henry Breedlove (Geraint Wyn Davies) in to following his direction. The best moments are when Geoffrey gets us to see the play anew. Ironically, at the same time the Festival is putting on "Romeo & Juliet," directed by Darren Nichols (Don McKellar), who is actually back again. Nicholas antipathy for the play is such that he is trying to present the play devoid of all romance to the stunned displeasure of his leads, Sarah (Joanne Kelly) and Patrick (David Alpay). So we have two plays where the director and cast disagree on the performance and for the most part the wrong side is winning the argument, which is somewhat maddening. Especially when who is right and who is wrong on each stage is so absolutely clear, but the great cosmic joke for Season 2 just because people do what you want and just because you are right, does not mean that they are ever going to admit that you were right despite ample evidence proving the point. Of course there are other things going on at New Burbage to keep everyone occupied. The Festival is having massive financial problems and as a last resort Richard Smith-Jones (Mark McKinney) has hired an advertising guru, Sanjay (Colm Feore) who promises a "youth quake" as the result of a bizarre ad campaign that goes out of its way to offend current subscribers. Meanwhile, Ellen is being audited and Anna (Susan Coyne) has caught the eye of a visiting playwright, much to her surprise. But if you know Shakespeare then you know the play is the thing, and it is not until we get to the Scottish play that "Slings & Arrows" is back in high gear, although what is happening with the other play has some interesting moments. Now we have to wait for Season 3 to come out on DVD, it appears that the first line of the final stanza of the opening song sets up what we have to look forward to in the final season: So gimme King Lear Cleopatra Romeo, Juliet Doesn't mattra I'll play them all for free But I'd be crackers To take on Mackers You see, I'm skittish about the Scottish tragedy

Different than Season One:
Season two of Sling and Arrows is darker than season one, but that's not a bad thing. The writing and acting is still wonderful, it's just not as laugh out loud funny. Don't let that steer you away though! It's still well worth the money.