Yellowknife (Oct 27/06) - Some actors merely play a character. Others become the character, bringing a living, breathing person to the stage.

Actor John Nolan, who will bring his one-man play Tommy Douglas: Arrows of Desire to Yellowknife next Friday and Saturday at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, shoots for the latter.

John Nolan brings Canadian politician Tommy Douglas to life in Arrows of Desire, which opens next week at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre. - photo courtesy of John Nolan

"It's your ultimate encounter with Tommy Douglas," he said from his home in Weyburn Sask., where the politician preached as a Baptist minister.

He said the play is a collection of speeches from and glimpses into the man's life, "boiled down into as much platinum as I have."

"It's a cross between an old revival meeting and a look at the future."

Nolan said the "look at the future" is the lessons the first leader of the New Democratic Party and the "father of Medicare" can still teach us about Canadian politics.

"Tommy Douglas is way ahead of these guys," Nolan said of today's politicians.

"It's time some sanity was injected into this mess, and Tommy Douglas is about as sane as you can get."

Nolan said he first started studying Douglas in the 80s, and was struck by the man's principles, his longevity, the opposition his ideas created, and more.

"The criteria really was, who could I not imagine Canada without?"

Moving to Weyburn, Douglas's adopted hometown just south of Regina, was only the first step in his preparation for the role.

"My office is in Tommy Douglas's old office, in Calvary Baptist Church, which has become a performing arts centre.

"It's extreme method acting," he said.

So far, he said the work has paid off, as responses have always been strong.

"We've been from Victoria to New Brunswick and had incredible reactions from people. It's really exciting to be going North now.

"I know that look on people's faces," he said of individual reactions to his portrayal of Douglas.

"It's a mixture of kind of shock and wonder.

"I prefer that to people coming up and saying, 'That was lovely, I enjoyed the evening, goodbye.'"