SLINGS & ARROWS Prequel THE AMATEURS to Reunite Original Cast in Stratford

Fans of the acclaimed comedy series Slings & Arrows will have the opportunity to see many of the show's original stars reunite for a staged reading of The Amateurs at the Stratford Festival on July 26.

Written by the Slings & Arrows creative team of Susan Coyne, Bob Martin, and Mark McKinney, The Amateurs is A New Television comedy inspired by the founding of the Stratford Festival and serves as a prequel to the beloved series.

"The Amateurs offers a thoroughly entertaining take on the kind of improbable dream from which festivals such as ours are born," said Artistic Director Designate Jonathan Church. "I'm thrilled Stratford audiences will be among the first to experience this new piece read by so many members of the original Slings & Arrows cast."

The reading reunites Bob Martin, Martha Burns, Paul Gross, Mark McKinney, Susan Coyne, Stephen Ouimette, and Don McKellar, alongside Jessica B. Hill, Shannon Taylor, Maria Vacratsis, André Sills, Jeff Lillico, Aaron Krohn, Ijeoma Emesowum, Bethany Jillard, and additional performers.

"The Amateurs is a fanciful retelling of the outrageous origin story of the Stratford Festival," said Bob Martin on behalf of the writing team. "We're thrilled to bring it to life on the very stage where the hallowed tent once stood."

The staged reading, presented in collaboration with Crow's Theatre, will feature the first two episodes of the series and will be directed by Chris Abraham.

"Getting this gang back together for a single night to read these first two episodes for the first time feels like a minor miracle—and a major treat," Abraham said.

Set in rural Ontario, The Amateurs tells the story of a small-town journalist who assembles an unlikely group of locals to launch a Shakespeare festival that eventually captures international attention, offering a humorous and heartfelt fictionalized origin story inspired by the creation of the Stratford Festival.