Momentous event in Victoria’s gay history inspires new play and course

A new play by University of Victoria theatre professor Jennifer Wise celebrates a little-known event in Victoria’s gay history.

A Queer Trial tells the real-life story of John Butt, an openly gay man who in 1860 was acquitted of sodomy charges by two successive juries—the first jury preferring to spend a night in jail rather than convict him.

The site-specific play will be performed on Friday, April 14 in Bastion Square, the very site where the trial took place.

Wise found the story while researching her play, The Girl Rabbi of the Golden West. She immersed herself in archival documents and the 1860 police-court transcripts—which she used verbatim in the play. “I realized this story would serve as an ideal project for students to learn about site-specific theatre,” says Wise.

The development of the course was funded by UVic’s Office of Community- University Engagement, and the production of A Queer Trial in April is the culmination of the students’ work. It also reflects the knowledge of members of BC’s Indigenous, LGBTQ2, Jewish, Black and legal communities.

The students in Wise’s class have taken on key roles, from acting and singing to dramaturgy and historical research, from musical direction and choreography to costume design. The director is alumnus Matthew Payne, artistic producer of Theatre SKAM, a company acclaimed for its sitespecific productions.

“We’re taking this beautiful message of tolerance and humanity right into the heart of the community,” says Wise, recognizing that recent political events have emboldened attacks on these communities at home and abroad.

“As we celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary, this play reminds us how essential this message of tolerance is in our world today.”

Wise’s last site-specific play also dramatized a surprising event in Victoria’s history. The Girl Rabbi of the Golden West, performed for Congregation Emanu-El’s 150th anniversary, told the story of Ray Frank, who served as the synagogue’s first female rabbi in 1895.

A Queer Trial will be performed twice on April 14—at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.— using the heritage façades, doorways and wrought-iron architectural features of Bastion Square to advantage in celebrating this historic event.