The Ghost of Slings and Arrows

Slings and Arrows Oliver Welles (Stephen Ouimette) pontificates upon theatre parody Slings and Arrows - "where the real show is behind the scenes."

Is Artistic Ghost Oliver Welles based on anyone or is he a composite of a whole bunch of people?

I think a composite - I mean some people have thought it was directly relating to (Stratford Festival artistic director) Richard Monette, but not at all - I mean - I think Oliver is from my own perspective, a composite of every artistic director that I've ever known and then just some totally made up stuff. (Ouimette laughs knowingly)

When Oliver dies, in Season One, what was that like going through that process - just lying there in the casket?

That's the weirdest thing ever, and of course you know you in the movies you sort of sit around for a long time while they fiddle with the light, so I ended up spending a lot of time in that coffin. It wasn't very much fun, I've got to tell you.

But the two actors playing the undertakers (The Mortimer Brothers - Robert Persichini (Dogberry in Stratford Festival's Much Ado About Nothing) and Julian Richings - (Bucky Haight in Hard Core Logo) remoniscing about Oliver's career were very funny.

In Season Two, Geoffrey Tennant decides to stage The Scottish Play taunting the theatre myth, and his sanity as Oliver Welles 'opines' at him from the Great Beyond or the Burbage Storage Closet. On Geoffrey's personal playbill - the fairly gargantuan ego of actor Henry Breedlove (Geraint Wyn Davies) and foul corporate exec Sanjay Rainier (Colm Feore).

The second season is jam-packed - The Scottish Play, Romeo and Juliet and a new Canadian play and so there is lots and lots of really great and funny stuff.