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The premise of the show does not initially seem like an example of universally appealing “must-see TV”, especially if you have never been fortunate enough to visit the real town New Burbage is based off of, Stratford, Ontario, which has been responsible for some of the greatest theater in North America for decades now. However, the pitch isn’t over. Slings & Arrows takes a brilliantly absurdist dip as Oliver’s long-time protege, Geoffery Tennant (Canadian national treasure, Paul Gross) is asked to take over as artistic director, and two major issues arise because of that. Geoffrey and Oliver had a huge falling out years before Oliver’s death, and whether it is subconscious guilt or a mental breakdown, Geoffrey begins to see Oliver’s ghost whenever he is at work.
Is Geoffrey descending into madness? Is it unresolved emotional baggage between the two of them? Is it simply a device of the writers to mirror a major plot point of Hamlet? Whatever it might be, the soft and sassy performance of Ouimette as Oliver’s spirit is one of the show’s greatest attributes. He has some of the best writing behind him, consistently spitting out nuggets of evergreen wisdom such as “the sole virtue of the ineffectual is consistency” and the proverbial odd-couple of Geoffrey and Oliver work so well as a comedic duo, as the two characters work together to create an acclaimed version of Hamlet.
While Shakespeare might not be the draw he once was, the greatest aspect of the show is its accessibility. It shows what so many high school English teachers have struggled to communicate for decades: that Shakespeare is about the human condition, and yes, that means the human condition in 1603, 2003, and 2023. There’s no need to dress it up with guns, California beaches, or drug-induced scenes featuring Harold Perrineau in drag (although that is fun). Shakespeare’s works can teach us things about ourselves if we simply give them a chance and see through the pretense.
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If that still is not convincing enough, then be comforted in the fact that while it may use Shakespearean morals and archetypes, the show really isn’t about Shakespeare. However, it does borrow from some amazing real-life theater folklore that is the stuff of legends.
The great Daniel Day-Lewis, at one point early in his career, reportedly saw his dead father on stage during a performance of Hamlet and merely walked out, never to return. The actor, who broke the silence on the story about a decade ago, recalls it had nothing to do with seeing ghostly-father-figures, but simply because he had enough of the production. Even Day-Lewis admits, this particular aspect of his sometimes “difficult” reputation is justified, and has haunted him for years. No pun intended. In the first season of Slings & Arrows, one of the main characters has a similar breakdown, freezing on stage during a production, only to suddenly leap into the trap door and vanish in the middle of a performance. It was a tiny, delicious, and deliberate homage to an amazing true-life story within the world of theater.
One of the other story threads within the premiere season is so joyfully recognizable that it will make anyone chuckle. Hamilton, Ontario’s own Luke Kirby, long before his Emmy-winning stint as Lenny Bruce in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, plays Jack Crew, a massive Hollywood action star who has agreed to take the stage in the titular role in Hamlet. His characterization is an obvious nod to another native-son of Ontario, the now-beloved Keanu Reeves. There was a time when the young Reeves was not the stoic-philosopher poet that he appears to be in his massive recent action roles such as John Wick. When a young Reeves still had yet to find himself, as a person or an actor, some of his more dramatic turns took tragic turns. Most notably, Reeves’ performance in Dracula stuck out for all the wrong reasons.
