The Unnatural and Accidental Women
by Marie Clements
“Marie Clements … has managed to turn a true story of murder and tragedy from what is gruesome and despicable at best into a beautifully presented and acted play … ”
—Raven’s Eye
“It’s an ambitious production, with over a dozen speaking parts, incorporating poetry, dance, native song and multi-media projection … An impressive, powerful work.”
—Eye Weekly
The Unnatural and Accidental Women was first presented on November 2, 2000, at the Firehall Arts Centre in Vancouver, B.C. with the following cast:
| VALERIE | Columpa Bobb |
| MAVIS | Gloria May Eshkibok |
| THE BARBER | Peter Hall |
| AUNT SHADIE | Muriel Miguel |
| REBECCA | Michelle St. John |
| RON | Bill Croft |
| VIOLET | Tasha Faye Evans |
| VERNA | Sophie Merasty |
| THE WOMAN | Michelle Olson |
| ROSE | Christine Willes |
| THE BARBERSHOP WOMEN | Dolores Dallas, Adele Kruger & Odessa Shuquaya |
| Co-directors | Donna Spencer & Marie Clements |
| Set & Lighting Designer | Robert Gardiner (assisted by Kyla Gardiner) |
| Slide/Visual Designer | Michelle Nahanee |
| Music Composition | Ulali |
| Music Arrangement | Simon Kendall |
| Costume Designer | John Powell (assisted by Lynn Hill) |
| Sound Designer | Noah Drew |
| Assistant to the Directors | Fif Fernandes |
| Stage Manager | Deborah Ratelle |
| Technical Director | James Proudfoot |
| Visual Technical Direction | Craig Alfredson |
The Unnatural and Accidental Women is a play based on a true murder case in Vancouver that involved the deaths of at least ten women and many more “mystery” deaths of women in the East Hastings Street area unofficially referred to as “Skid Row.” All the women were found dead with a blood-alcohol reading far beyond safe human consumption, and all the women were last seen with Gilbert Paul Jordan, a local barber who frequented the bars preying on primarily middle-aged Native women. The coroner’s reports listed the cause of death for many of the women as “unnatural and accidental.”
| CHARACTERS: | |
| REBECCA (ages 4 and 30): | Mixed blood/Native—a writer searching for the end of a story. |
| ROSE (age 52): | English immigrant—a switchboard operator with a soft heart, but thorny. |
| AUNT SHADIE (age 52): | Native—mother qualities of strength, humour, love, patience. |
| MAVIS (age 42): | Native—a little slow from the butt down, but stubborn in life and memory. |
| THE WOMAN (age 27): | Native—looks and moves like a deer. |
| VALERIE (age 33): | Native—a big, beautiful woman proud of her parts. |
| VERNA (age 38): | Native—sarcastic but searching to do the right thing, the right way. |
| VIOLET (ages 5 and 27): | Native—an old spirit who grows younger to see herself again. |
| THE BARBERSHOP WOMEN: | A beautiful, sexy threesome that can move and sing. |
| MARILYN (age 25): Native | |
| PENNY (age 30): Native | |
| PATSY (age 40): Native | |
| THE BARBER (ages 30s and 60s): | White—short, balding, nice and creepy. Also transforms into THE MAN, THE ROMANTIC PARTNER, THE PILLOW, THE DRESSER, THE MAN’S SHADOW, THE AIRLINE STEWARD, and 2ND FATHERLY MALE VOICE. |
| RON (age 35): | A cop—handsome, with a nice body and a good sense of humour. Also plays THE LOGGER, and is IT until he is RON. |
| SFX VOICES: | |
| EVAN (age 8): | VALERIE’s oldest son, wise and angry. |
| TOMMY (age 5): | VALERIE’s youngest son, naive and sweet. |
| THE OPERATOR: | A polite but repetitive telephone recording. |
| FATHERLY MALE VOICE: | THE WOMAN’S adopted father. |
| “Can I buy you a drink?”: | THE BARBER’s voice. |
ACT 1
Scenes