The Stratford Festival and Slings & Arrows, once at odds, have found common ground after two decades of détente. The Stratford Festival's new artistic director, Jonathan Church, has initiated a formal relationship with the TV dramedy, green-lighting a prequel series, The Amateurs, before his first season is even announced. This marks a significant shift from the past, where the Stratford Festival's artistic director, Richard Monette, had a heated confrontation with Slings & Arrows co-creator Bob Martin and producer Niv Fichman over the show's scripts and on-site filming. Monette's refusal to allow the series to shoot on site was a point of contention, but the current détente has led to a collaborative effort.
The Amateurs will be brought to life through a star-studded live reading at the Festival Theatre on July 26, featuring the show's co-creators, Susan Coyne and Mark McKinney, alongside former leads Paul Gross, Stephen Ouimette, Martha Burns, and Don McKellar. This event will also be available on the Stratfest@Home streaming service, marking a significant moment in the relationship between the Stratford Festival and Slings & Arrows.
The show's creators, Coyne, Martin, and McKinney, have a particular chemistry that keeps them drawn to the world of Slings & Arrows. The series, which aired from 2003 to 2006, captured the magic of the theatre without romanticizing the business, and its ability to communicate the theatre's magic has kept viewers returning for rewatches. The show's themes, linked to different Shakespeare plays, and its satirical take on the aspects of theatre-making usually kept behind the curtains, have made it a cult classic.
Jonathan Church, the new artistic director, fell in love with the series after discovering its plotlines about the enduring power of Shakespeare. He learned of the series from colleagues after taking over the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2006, and it became a love letter to these organizations. The show's brutal honesty and love for the theatre made it a favorite, despite the initial reaction from Monette, who found the scripts challenging to interpret.
The Amateurs draws on the distant history of the Stratford Festival's birth, with main characters Tim and Hugh, inspired by festival founder Tom Patterson and initial artistic director Tyrone Guthrie. The show's story of the birth of New Burbage, and by proxy the Stratford Festival, is a thrilling narrative that the creators enjoy sharing. The live reading of The Amateurs will take place on July 26 at the Stratford Festival, offering a unique opportunity to experience the show's magic and the history of the Stratford Festival.
