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The Unnatural and Accidental Women
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.
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.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
8 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Marie Clements
13 books10 followersMarie Clements (born January 10, 1962) is a Métis playwright, performer, director, producer and screenwriter. Marie was founding artistic director of urban ink productions, and is currently co-artistic director of red diva projects, and director of her new film company Working Pajama Lab Entertainment. Clements lives on Galiano Island, British Columbia. As a writer Marie has worked in a variety of mediums including theatre, performance, film, multi-media, radio, and television.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
December 2, 2022
of the opinion that plays should be watched, not read. (esp with the amount of shit going on in this one)
December 5, 2022
Cool play, feel like it would be a lot better actually seeing it though. Nevertheless it was good.
February 10, 2019
White is a blindness. It has nothing to do with the colour of your skin."
Based on the real life murders of ten Indigenous women by Gilbert Paul Jordan (for which he was only convicted for one), The Unnatural and Accidental Women revives the dead to speak on their hopes, their dreams before their lives were cruelly cut short. This play is both a condemnation of the system which allowed a man to get away with murder because he purposefully took advantage of the racism built into the system and a reminder of those who are left behind. It is an exposure of the trauma and a reclamation and revitalization.
4.5 stars
Based on the real life murders of ten Indigenous women by Gilbert Paul Jordan (for which he was only convicted for one), The Unnatural and Accidental Women revives the dead to speak on their hopes, their dreams before their lives were cruelly cut short. This play is both a condemnation of the system which allowed a man to get away with murder because he purposefully took advantage of the racism built into the system and a reminder of those who are left behind. It is an exposure of the trauma and a reclamation and revitalization.
4.5 stars
March 19, 2023
The Unnatural and Accidental Women is an homage to the real Vancouver murder case of 8 Indigenous women whose deaths got classified as “unnatural and accidental”. This book is the writing of the play inspired by the true events. It contains conversations of identity politics, feminism, retribution and is accompanied by simplistic, yet impactful writing.
October 15, 2025
I hope one day I can see this live because it was a tough read but I can imagine how beautiful this production is. Justice for the missing and murdered indigenous women all across Canada (I specify Canada because I am Canadian and it’s an epidemic, but justice for all the MMIW everywhere.)
June 6, 2012
Out of all the plays I've had to read for my Intercultural Theatre and Performance in Toronto course, this was my favourite. I love the way it's written, and I love the characters and the way they interact. The fact that it's based on true events but is full of fictional/mystical elements is really cool. Like someone in my tutorial said in the online forums we have to do, Marie Clements took elements of a historical event--namely, a thirty-year murder case surrounding the mysterious deaths of many middle-aged Native women in Skid-Row--and used them to create another story, a story of women coming into their own, embracing their culture and each other, and becoming empowered. And getting their revenge on the murderer, which of course didn't actually happen in real life.
There are two quotes I really liked. They are both between Rose, and English-Canadian telephone operator, and Aunt Shadie, one of the many victims of the murderer. The first one is an adorable conversation about hugs and love and tea:
ROSE:
How many things have you squished while hugging?
AUNT SHADIE:
I never really squished anything. I was just trying to get across to you that feeling of loving something so much you could squish it. I think
everybody should have that feeling at least once.
ROSE:
Hugging till you squish, or being squished?
AUNT SHADIE:
Both. But...
ROSE:
What?
AUNT SHADIE:
It makes you kinda want to be the squished one, doesn't it?
ROSE:
Yes... yes, it does actually. Tea?
AUNT SHADIE:
Sure.
The second conversation is one of those ones that makes you go "OHHHH...wow. What an amazing thing to think about."
AUNT SHADIE:
...I was afraid she would begin to see me the way he saw me, the way white people look up and down without seeing you--like you are not worthy
of seeing. Extinct, like a ghost... being invisible can kill you.
ROSE:
I see you, and I like what I see.
AUNT SHADIE:
I see you--and don't worry, you're not white.
ROSE:
I'm pretty sure I'm white. I'm English.
AUNT SHADIE:
White is a blindness--it has nothing to do with the colour of your skin.
ROSE:
You're gonna make me cry.
AUNT SHADIE:
You better make us some tea then.
ROSE:
That will help?
AUNT SHADIE:
No, but it gives you something to do.
The thing about whiteness being a blindness, not having to do with skin colour--isn't that so awes-mazing... I don't have a word for it. But I think it's really cool. Okay, so I actually lied before, I have one more quote, and this one is not between those two but between most of the women. And it's kinda long.
REBECCA:
...I hold it in my heart, it keeps me attached to the gravity of a perfect knowing.
VALERIE:
A mother opens the heart of her child and places her rock inside the flesh. Inside, so no one--no man, no ugliness, will ever place its grabby hands
on it.
VERNA:
A mother buries its knowledge inside the child. Kiss-ageeta-ooma. It drops inside the eternity of blood and earth. Kiss-ageeta-ooma. I love you,
silly face.
REBECCA:
It makes me hit the riverbed like a rock. Water shining over me, new, over me new, a new reflection of my true self, knowing I am heavy.
VALERIE:
A mother opens the heart of her child and places her rock inside the flesh. A growing child takes a rock from the earth it walked from and places it
in a leather pouch and hangs it around her neck. A woman walks heavy.
VIOLET:
She sleeps like a rock.
VERNA:
She sleeps like a rock.
VIOLET:
She dreams like a rock.
VERNA:
She dreams like a rock.
VALERIE:
A woman walks heavy. A woman walks heavy. Like a rock molded from the earth--its tears and blood, its laughter and love--gone solid.
So good! I really enjoyed reading this play, actually. Though it would still be nice if the course director would consider interspersing all of the depressing plays we had to see and read with some light-hearted, happy-ish ones. Just sayin'.
There are two quotes I really liked. They are both between Rose, and English-Canadian telephone operator, and Aunt Shadie, one of the many victims of the murderer. The first one is an adorable conversation about hugs and love and tea:
ROSE:
How many things have you squished while hugging?
AUNT SHADIE:
I never really squished anything. I was just trying to get across to you that feeling of loving something so much you could squish it. I think
everybody should have that feeling at least once.
ROSE:
Hugging till you squish, or being squished?
AUNT SHADIE:
Both. But...
ROSE:
What?
AUNT SHADIE:
It makes you kinda want to be the squished one, doesn't it?
ROSE:
Yes... yes, it does actually. Tea?
AUNT SHADIE:
Sure.
The second conversation is one of those ones that makes you go "OHHHH...wow. What an amazing thing to think about."
AUNT SHADIE:
...I was afraid she would begin to see me the way he saw me, the way white people look up and down without seeing you--like you are not worthy
of seeing. Extinct, like a ghost... being invisible can kill you.
ROSE:
I see you, and I like what I see.
AUNT SHADIE:
I see you--and don't worry, you're not white.
ROSE:
I'm pretty sure I'm white. I'm English.
AUNT SHADIE:
White is a blindness--it has nothing to do with the colour of your skin.
ROSE:
You're gonna make me cry.
AUNT SHADIE:
You better make us some tea then.
ROSE:
That will help?
AUNT SHADIE:
No, but it gives you something to do.
The thing about whiteness being a blindness, not having to do with skin colour--isn't that so awes-mazing... I don't have a word for it. But I think it's really cool. Okay, so I actually lied before, I have one more quote, and this one is not between those two but between most of the women. And it's kinda long.
REBECCA:
...I hold it in my heart, it keeps me attached to the gravity of a perfect knowing.
VALERIE:
A mother opens the heart of her child and places her rock inside the flesh. Inside, so no one--no man, no ugliness, will ever place its grabby hands
on it.
VERNA:
A mother buries its knowledge inside the child. Kiss-ageeta-ooma. It drops inside the eternity of blood and earth. Kiss-ageeta-ooma. I love you,
silly face.
REBECCA:
It makes me hit the riverbed like a rock. Water shining over me, new, over me new, a new reflection of my true self, knowing I am heavy.
VALERIE:
A mother opens the heart of her child and places her rock inside the flesh. A growing child takes a rock from the earth it walked from and places it
in a leather pouch and hangs it around her neck. A woman walks heavy.
VIOLET:
She sleeps like a rock.
VERNA:
She sleeps like a rock.
VIOLET:
She dreams like a rock.
VERNA:
She dreams like a rock.
VALERIE:
A woman walks heavy. A woman walks heavy. Like a rock molded from the earth--its tears and blood, its laughter and love--gone solid.
So good! I really enjoyed reading this play, actually. Though it would still be nice if the course director would consider interspersing all of the depressing plays we had to see and read with some light-hearted, happy-ish ones. Just sayin'.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2018
One of the most affecting plays I have ever read by my favourite playwright, this play uses surrealism to bring to life a series of women who were murdered in Vancouver’s downtown east side between 1965 and 1987, which whose deaths were dismissed by the coroner at the time as being “unnatural and accidental.” 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.
December 20, 2025
dec2025 - read this for the first time back in first year of undergrad, i think this was one of the first non-shakespearean plays i’d read. i can def see how having become familiar w theatre has changed my perspective & affected what elements of the play stand out to me. in my memory i retained mainly dialogue-heavy scenes whereas reading it this time i was far more struck by the stage directions. i’d looove to see this on stage im so curious to see how they’d be adapted (esp the opening scene & the portrayal of the rhythms of drinking)
November 28, 2024
Halfway through this book, I began wondering what the hell I had spent several hours reading. By the end I was left more than satisfied.
The Unnatural and Accidental Women, as read written not seen performed, is chaotic and disjointed, until it isn't. Myself and several others with whom I've discussed the text spent a majority of it wondering what it was building to, noticing surface level themes and ideas while failing to grasp the entire of what Clements was attempting to convey. Yet the final portions of the text suddenly tie all of these disparate threads into a cloth spear driven directly the heart of the narrative of colonial violence. The climax is startling as compared to the slow building tension of the rest of the play, but it slots neatly into the narrative, giving much-needed context to everything that came before it.
Clements writes of the treatment of indigenous women with a simmering anger that permeates every interaction and every word of the text. The dialogue is crass, witty, and painful, occasionally producing a hidden line that leaves the reader reflecting on the passage they've just read, recognising symbols and traps hidden in the thick blanket of verbal snow.
Personally, I enjoyed this play, and believe it's worth at least one read through.
The Unnatural and Accidental Women, as read written not seen performed, is chaotic and disjointed, until it isn't. Myself and several others with whom I've discussed the text spent a majority of it wondering what it was building to, noticing surface level themes and ideas while failing to grasp the entire of what Clements was attempting to convey. Yet the final portions of the text suddenly tie all of these disparate threads into a cloth spear driven directly the heart of the narrative of colonial violence. The climax is startling as compared to the slow building tension of the rest of the play, but it slots neatly into the narrative, giving much-needed context to everything that came before it.
Clements writes of the treatment of indigenous women with a simmering anger that permeates every interaction and every word of the text. The dialogue is crass, witty, and painful, occasionally producing a hidden line that leaves the reader reflecting on the passage they've just read, recognising symbols and traps hidden in the thick blanket of verbal snow.
Personally, I enjoyed this play, and believe it's worth at least one read through.
February 18, 2025
In her uncanny, unique style, Marie Clements approaches the murders of ten Indigenous women in the Canadian west. This is a deeply mysterious play that struggles with a desire to live, deep grief, sadness, and longing. It's a dream-vision of a play, following a surreal logic and a search through memory, connecting women across generations and across families—but connecting them through loss and longing, the need to be loved. It's also a scary show (it is, after all, about a series of murders), but one always feels in secure hands with Clements' writing.
One thing I absolutely adore about Clements' work is that, although it is usual for a piece of theatre to make things make sense, to explain the mystery at the center of the drama, Clements is committed to the mystery of existence as such. Our desires, our heartbreaks, our need for something from our parents: these things are themselves mysterious, as mysterious and confounding in their own way as why this man murdered ten women. The Unnatural and Accidental Women no more claims to explain this serial murderer than it claims to explain what it's like to be depressed.
One thing I absolutely adore about Clements' work is that, although it is usual for a piece of theatre to make things make sense, to explain the mystery at the center of the drama, Clements is committed to the mystery of existence as such. Our desires, our heartbreaks, our need for something from our parents: these things are themselves mysterious, as mysterious and confounding in their own way as why this man murdered ten women. The Unnatural and Accidental Women no more claims to explain this serial murderer than it claims to explain what it's like to be depressed.
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November 22, 2023Torn.
An extremely important story concerning MMIWG….I get what this is about and I appreciate that people are reading important stories like this.
…but I feel like the text was very confusing and hard to follow. This is probably, to an extent, just a reflection of my undeveloped play reading skills. I am new to reading plays…I wish it was easier to follow because most of the reviews on here are raving about how amazing this is. My inability to follow hindered my experience. The sequences of actions and the organization were unclear.
An extremely important story concerning MMIWG….I get what this is about and I appreciate that people are reading important stories like this.
…but I feel like the text was very confusing and hard to follow. This is probably, to an extent, just a reflection of my undeveloped play reading skills. I am new to reading plays…I wish it was easier to follow because most of the reviews on here are raving about how amazing this is. My inability to follow hindered my experience. The sequences of actions and the organization were unclear.
June 15, 2017
This script was an incredible read, and I'm sure the play is actually much better.
I found it hard to follow at times, since I suppose my ability to read play scripts, particularly those for surreal plays, is a little lacking. It was also often a bit of painful - considering how raw and current the issues it deals with still are.
If ever it is playing in my area, I will rush to buy a ticket and go see it, however.
I found it hard to follow at times, since I suppose my ability to read play scripts, particularly those for surreal plays, is a little lacking. It was also often a bit of painful - considering how raw and current the issues it deals with still are.
If ever it is playing in my area, I will rush to buy a ticket and go see it, however.
January 7, 2023
probably better to just go see the actual play but still interesting to read (also probably better if u read this in one sitting instead of over a full month like i did because i kept forgetting who everyone was). i think that the dialogue has a good balance of humour and absolute banger sentences and i liked the story. i liked the treatment of the dead as still surrounding us and being silly wacky instead of just somber and depressing and gone forever to some unobtainable realm. very cool
December 6, 2022
I read this for class and loved it. Hard hitting, painful, vulgar, beautiful. Provokes poignant discussion on gendered violence, and violence towards indigenous women in Canada. From topics about the pain of assimilation, being mixed, to generational trauma and the resounding self-medication tactics.
4 hard-earned stars.
4 hard-earned stars.
March 27, 2024
uh fuck yeah. wouldve worked better as an actual staged production than just reading it but what can u do. i need to watch a staging of this. so crazy how my only non straight white man prof picks the best texts to read what a crazy crazy shock to us all
November 30, 2024
(3.5/5) man, i would kill to see this live. i really struggled with understanding it as i was reading, and i constantly felt left behind on themes. regardless, it was very good and very impactful - class discussion sure helped!
December 31, 2019
Heartbreaking. Play on MMIWG.
October 3, 2020
Read for my Canadian Literature of Dissent and Social Justice class
November 29, 2020
haunting
November 28, 2022
read for school
March 8, 2023
Kaleidoscopic, surreal, poetic—and outstanding.
10/10
10/10
November 26, 2024
definitely need to see a production of this before properly judging.
December 4, 2024
Read for ENG252 - studying rn
Read
November 6, 2025*4 school*
November 10, 2025
Reading a play takes away so much from it. Truly this would have been even better if I watched it
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews