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Description
The Unnatural and Accidental Women is a surrealist dramatization of a thirty-year murder case involving many mysterious deaths in the “Skid Row” area of Vancouver. All the victims were found dead with a blood-alcohol reading far beyond safe levels, and all were last seen in the company of Gilbert Paul Jordan, who frequented the city’s bars preying on primarily middle-aged Native women. The coroner’s reports listed the cause of death of many of these women as “unnatural and accidental.”
Marie Clements reconstructs the lives of these women as shaped by lost connections—to loved ones, to the land, to a way of life—lives of at times desperate, at times tender yearning for ties of communication, belonging and shelter gone dead. These are precariously vulnerable lives, so easily drawn to their end by the heat and light of a flame, lives that thirst for an end of searching in forgetfulness.
Contributor Notes
Marie Clements
Marie Clements is an award-winning Métis performer, playwright and director whose work has been presented on stages across Canada, the United States and Europe. She is the founder of urban ink productions, a Vancouver-based First Nations production company that creates, develops and produces Aboriginal and multi-cultural works of theatre, dance, music, film and video.
Clements was invited to the prestigious Festival de Theatre des Ameriques in 2001 for Urban Tattoo and in 2002 for Burning Vision. In 2002, she worked in the writing department of the television series Da Vinci’s Inquest. A fellowship award from the BC Film Commission enabled her to develop the film adaptation of her stage play, The Unnatural and Accidental Women. She is also a regular contributor on CBC Radio.
Clements writes, or perhaps more accurately, composes, with an urbane, incisive and sophisticated intellect; her refined artistry is deeply rooted in the particulars of her place, time and history. The world premiere of Copper Thunderbird is the first time Canada’s National Arts Centre has produced the work of a First Nations playwright on its main stage.
Awards and Recognition
Canada-Japan Literary Award (2004) Burning Vision
Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, Finalist (2003) Burning Vision
Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Original Play, Nominee (2002) Burning Vision
Elinore & Lou Siminovitch Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Canadian Theatre, Nominee (2002)
Jessie Richardson Awards, P.T.C. Award for Outstanding Original Play in Development (1998) The Unnatural and Accidental Women
Sundance Screenwriting Competition, Finalist (1998) Now Look What You Made Me Do
Praxis Screenwriting Competition, Short-listed (1997) Now Look What You Made Me Do
Jessie Richardson Awards, Sydney Risk Award for Original Script by an Emerging Playwright (1993) Age of Iron
Awards
- Winner, Jessie Richardson Award for The P.T.C. Award - Outstanding Original Play in Development
Editorial Reviews
“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
“Poetry, multi-media, inventive staging, and arresting choral works honour the women’s lives and seek empowering narratives beyond the victimizing tropes of the media.”
— Canadian Literature
"One of the most affecting plays I have ever read … This gut-wrenching exploration of the racism and sexism inherent in the Canadian justice system is especially stirring in the wake of Colten Boushie and Tina Fontaine. Clements is a brilliant storyteller and brings light and even playful moments to this stunning work."
—Pita, Goodreads.com
