The Amateurs at Festival Theatre, Stratford Festival

The Amateurs is a new TV comedy written by Susan Coyne, Bob Martin, and Mark McKinney, the writing team behind Slings & Arrows, presented as a staged reading of its first two episodes. Set in rural Ontario, it tells a heartfelt and funny origin story of a Shakespeare festival inspired by the founding of the Stratford Festival, functioning as a prequel to Slings & Arrows. The reading features original Slings & Arrows cast members including Bob Martin, Martha Burns, Paul Gross, Mark McKinney, Susan Coyne, Stephen Ouimette, Don McKellar, Jessica B. Hill, Shannon Taylor, Maria Vacratsis, André Sills, Jeff Lillico, Aaron Krohn, Ijeoma Emesowum, and Bethany Jillard. The reading is directed by Chris Abraham and presented in collaboration with Crow's Theatre as part of the Stratford Festival's Meighen Forum.