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Trial of Louis Riel play performed at RCMP Heritage Centre

John D. Huston (centre) is playing Louis Riel in the Trial of Louis Riel play being  performed at RCMP Heritage Centre. John D. Huston (centre) is playing Louis Riel in the Trial of Louis Riel play being performed at RCMP Heritage Centre.
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One of Canada’s most famous trials took place over 130 years ago, but Regina audiences can still get a front-row seat.

The Trial of Louis Riel has been performed in Regina annually for the past 55 years. This is the second year the play will take place at the RCMP Heritage center, a significant detail considering it is also near the spot of Riel’s hanging.

“It’s an honor and a responsibility to do this show the best it can be done in a place that has been for so long, known as the place where Canada hanged Louis Riel, this is where they lynched the hero of my people,” said actor John D. Huston, who plays Riel in the show.

The play depicts the famous trial which took place in 1885. Riel was tried for treason after leading a resistance movement by the Metis and First Nations people against the Canadian government known as the North West rebellion.

Written in 1967 by Joseph Coulter, the script draws directly from the trial.

“He actually took transcripts from the trial, boiled it down to an hour and forty-five minutes, got the commission, and went to work” explained Peter Champagne, another actor.

The show will be running from August 11-21 and tickets are available online.

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