Gordon Winter

Gordon Winter is an RCMP hero, a life-long champion of First Nations rights, and a bigot. He’s challenging the next generation of chiefs to stand up to the federal government when he spews a Nazi-inspired racist and homophobic rant. Suddenly, the one of the most revered First Nations leaders is now one of the most reviled human beings in Canada. While most want to consign Winter to the dustbin of history, some are quick to defend a man who did so much good in his life. Questions get asked: how should society respond to such outrageous comments from a prominent and public figure? Is it right to condemn a man based on just one moment of his life? Where did these convictions come from? The play moves forward in following Winter as he fights the criminal charge of inciting hate. It also moves backwards to show why Queen Elizabeth II pinned a medal of bravery onto his chest in the 70s, and to a critical moment in his childhood when the seeds of hate were planted by a small act of kindness.

“That racism is hateful, corrosive and self-perpetuating is hardly news. A play which captures that self-evident truth in fresh, robust and frequently funny fashion, however, is something unexpected. That’s especially so when the play poses difficult questions about the complexity of a man’s heart, our rush to judge what’s there, and the extent of our own, unspoken prejudices. Gordon Winter by Kenneth T. Williams does all these things.”

—Ottawa Citizen