SASKATOON -- A new production at Persephone Theatre will shine a spotlight on one of Saskatchewan's most controversial moments, tying it in with a larger conversation about race relations.

Local playwright Joel Bernbaum said his latest production puts race relations in Saskatchewan and reconciliation under the microscope.

"I thought 'what is the most important issue in Saskatchewan, where I live' and it occurred to me the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and newcomers are at the forefront," Bernbaum said.

"It's always been intended to be a kaleidoscopic view of the relationship between Indigenous, non-Indigenous and newcomer people in this province."

The process for the production started four years ago. Following a grant from the Saskatchewan Arts Board he interviewed the first 50 people about the Indigenous and non-Indigenous relationships in the province.

Then came the shooting death of a young Indigenous man, Colten Boushie, in 2016. A Saskatchewan farmer, Gerald Stanley, was charged with murder in connection with Boushie's death.

"When that tragedy happened to the whole province, we couldn't not make it apart of the play," Bernbaum said. "So we began to weave not only from interviews from across the province, but the transcripts from the Stanley trial as well as original music from the play."

Following his murder trial a jury found Stanley not guilty of murder, but guilty of weapon offences.

Bernbaum added the conversation he was having with people changed following these events.

"They were very polite, those interviews, but after that tragedy people began speaking from a heart place with a real kind of honesty. They had to talk; they needed to talk to try to figure out how that tragedy happened and where we go from here."

Director Yvette Nolan said as an Indigenous artist in Saskatchewan, she's proud to see Canadians arrive at this moment in the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the 94 calls to action, where they can have a conversation about relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. But she doesn't downplay the emotions surrounding this topic.

"Proof of that is that Persephone Theatre, was willing to (show) this play, which will be really challenging because we have to listen to a lot of things … people were so honest and so generous with their words and their emotions especially after the Boushie-Stanley event," Nolan said.

'Reasonable Doubt' premieres Wednesday night at Persephone Theatre and runs through to Feb. 12.