The Arctic Circle War

Originally written by Brian Lewis and subsequently adapted by John Agnew and Ben Nind, The Arctic Circle War relates the story of The Mad Trapper of Rat River. The man still known to the world as Albert Johnson.

In 1931, after wounding one Mountie and killing another, Albert Johnson led the RCMP on a sixty-day midwinter man-hunt through the Western NWT and the Yukon Territory. The native guides for the Mounties reluctantly chased him, convinced that the man they were chasing was possessed by a Windego.

Eventually an airplane flown by Wop May was brought in and a blazing gun battle ensued leaving the Mad Trapper dead on a bend of the Eagle River. He was half starved and frozen, wounded seven times and throughout all of it he maintained his silence. His strength and endurance are legendary, as he covered ground in the harsh northern winter with no provisions that most men could not travel in the summer under ideal conditions.

The Arctic Circle War was coined by Time Magazine in 1931 in its coverage of the manhunt. The story of the Mad Trapper of Rat River wrapped itself around the world. It became a Canadian legend and over the last seventy years, newspapers, magazines, radio reports and numerous books have speculated just who Albert Johnson might really have been but no answer has ever been found.

In The Arctic Circle War, Albert Johnson is given a voice for the first time. This critically acclaimed production featured Murray Utas, George Szilagyi, Heather Murdoch and Keath Thome. Design by Julie Fox. Costumes by Julie Fox and Sidney Sproule. Technical Direction by Mari Crozier. Research assistance by Erica Tesar. Directed by Ben Nind.