Andrew Wheeler’s Governing Body

Abstract

This article looks at a single actor’s performance of three very different politicians. One of Vancouver’s most prolific stage actors, Andrew Wheeler has a resumé that boasts many memorable monarchs and soldiers of the classical repertoire. In the last five years, however, his standout roles have brought to life contemporary political figures in provocative Canadian plays that feature critiques of political establishments and processes. The article looks at Wheeler’s performance as US Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara in Sean Devine’s Re:Union, as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Michael Healey’s Proud, and as mistakenly elected Member of Parliament Angus McLintock in Vern Thiessen’s musical adaptation of Terry Fallis’s novel about Canadian electoral dysfunction, The Best Laid Plans: a Musical. The article describes how actors insert themselves into the political process by speaking to the audience about the character they are playing, and charts how, as Marvin Carlson points out, each successive role carries a haunted echo of the last. Wheeler’s performances, it is argued, critique not just the real and fictional people on whom they are based but ideology and power as well.