Félix Poutré: Drame Historique En Quatre Actes

The first dramatic treatment of Canada's forgotten rebellion. When Fréchette premiered this play in 1862, the 1838 insurrection had been systematically erased from official memory its participants executed, imprisoned, or driven into exile. He refused to let that silence stand. The drama follows Félix Poutré, a wounded patriot hiding in Montreal, eluding British authorities while fellow conspirators plot a desperate uprising against colonial rule. The tension crackles: secret meetings, double-crossing informers, the constant threat of betrayal. Camel, a traitor embedded among the patriots, conspires with police to dismantle the movement from within. This isn't romantic nationalism. It's a play about what happens when ordinary people decide that the cost of freedom is worth paying, even when the odds are hopeless. It ran continuously for decades across Quebec, from small towns to Montreal's biggest stages. That's not accident. It spoke to something true about resistance, sacrifice, and the price of dignity.