Seven years after suffering a mental breakdown during a performance of "Hamlet" at the New Burbage Festival, Geoffrey Tennant is struggling to make ends meet, managing the dilapidated Theatre Sans Argent (Theatre Without Money). Oliver Welles, still the artistic director at the festival, is mounting his tenth identical production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and is worried that his has lost his creative edge. Richard Smith-Jones, general manager of the festival, attempts to save the funding as their sponsor, Lenstrex, goes through a change of management. The new Lenstrex liaison, Holly Day, seems interest in the festival, and in Richard. Kate McNab, an actress making her debut in the play, is shocked that her high school drama teacher wants to give up his teaching career to act in the festival.

Geoffrey hands the actual production of Hamlet over to Stage Director Darren Nichols, so that he can devote himself to supervising the Festival's new money-making scheme, the "Shakespeare in Business Seminar". Holly Day spirits Richard off to Toronto to see Mamma Mia and indulge in more scheming. Kate and Jack enjoy a movie-popcorn afternoon while tongues wag. Geoffrey manages to alienate everyone when he is interviewed by a theatre critic, then gets drunk and challenges Darren to a sword duel.

In jail after his escapade at Ellen's party, Geoffrey is visited by the ghost of his dead mentor Oliver, who cousels him on the danger of trying to ignore his past feelings for Ellen, the woman who once broke his heart. Meanwhile, Holly and Richard work on their merchandising scheme, which involves a Shakespeare themed village of retail stores. Geoffrey is finally forced to fire Darren as director, to the relief of the cast but the worry of the Board of Directors.

With Geoffrey now directing the production of Hamlet, Richard and Holly fear that his success may doom their plan to redirect corporate resources to the Shakespeare Village. But their attempt to derail the production is foiled by one of the actors literally "breaking a leg."

It's opening day and the play's leading man, in a low ebb of self-esteem, has gone missing. Richard is revealed as a traitor to the company of actors. Ellen reveals to Geoffrey what really happened that night 7 years before. With Kate's help, can the play go on?