Spring thaw brings Indigenous storytelling to the Globe
A new festival at the Globe Theatre celebrates First Nations and Métis voices through theatre, comedy, music and new works in development.
A new festival is taking root at the Globe Theatre, bringing Indigenous storytelling, emerging artists and multidisciplinary performance to the stage.
Spring Thaw launches in 2026 as the theatre’s newest festival. The annual event celebrates First Nations and Métis voices through theatre, music, comedy and new works in development. At its heart is a three-week run of a play by an Indigenous creator presented on the Globe’s Main Stage as part of the subscription season.
This year’s featured production is Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer, written and directed by Kevin Loring, an award-winning playwright of the Nlaka’pamux Nation and the first artistic director of Indigenous theatre at the National Arts Centre. Beyond the mainstage production, the festival includes play readings and development opportunities alongside live music and stand-up comedy, creating space for emerging artists and new voices.
Artistic director Jennifer Brewin says the idea grew from seeing how creative festivals can spark new work and bring artists and audiences together. She was also eager to work with Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre in Saskatoon, and embrace their approach to developing and producing new works.
“They are leading the conversation in this collaboration, and we are guests with the chance to see the incredible art they are creating,” she says. “I also have seen how creative gatherings like the Next Stage Festival, The Paprika Festival, Spark Festival, and High Performance Rodeo launch careers and equally invite audiences to meet artists.”
Creating space for creativity
Spring Thaw is being developed with emerging Métis and First Nations curators and artistic directors, along with partnerships with Indigenous-led theatre companies, organizations and professionals.
Jennifer says the Globe’s role is to open its doors and support the creative process. The festival also intentionally invites a range of performance styles.
“The multidisciplinary approach to the festival is part of the invitation. We keep it open to the performance style artists engage with—music and storytelling, comedy and visual art—and blend it to make original performances which don’t fit into any specific genre”
A comedy with something to say
At the centre of the festival is Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer, a courtroom comedy that blends satire, romance and questions of land and justice. When Red, the last member of the Little Red Warrior First Nation, discovers a condo development on his ancestral land, he fights back and finds himself entangled in legal chaos and an unexpected love triangle. Jennifer says the play’s humour and themes make it a strong fit for Regina audiences.
“Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer is a play that speaks to themes we all connect to and wonder about: Treaty rights, reconciliation in modern times, and how it’s personal, local and close-up. Kevin’s script is very funny as confusion and assumptions are always the best fodder for comedy,” she says. “The play has already been a sell-out at Theatre Calgary and The Belfrey in Vancouver. It’s going to make people laugh, it’s going to spark conversations, and it’s the right story for this moment and this festival.”
The festival will also include a reading of a new play by Shawn Cuthand, exploring the tensions that emerge when an Indigenous man joins his non-Indigenous fiancée’s family for dinner.
With new voices, bold performances and plenty of laughter, Spring Thaw invites audiences to discover Indigenous storytelling in fresh and unexpected ways at the Globe.
Globe Theatre
1801 Scarth Street
Regina
(306) 525 6400