Rag Reviews

Unwanted Dead or Alive

A review of the play

by Gwynne Hunt

I first read Elizabeth Hudson’s book, Snowbodies, a coule of year’s ago. I reviewed it for the print Rag and we began to communicate back and forth by email.  The book was an excellent story of Elizabeth Hudson’s life on the streets as a sex trade worker and an addict. Very powerful.

Last spring Elizabeth decided to write a play to put in Art Matter’s  Festival of Artistic and Creative Expression in June 2009. My theatre company, the Penny-a-Line Players produced this work. I do have to congratulate myself on casting Gai Grown Evans in this hard-hitting one-woman show, as not many actors could carry off 20 minutes on-stage talking to themselves.

Elizabeth set the scene with a woman at a bus stop waiting for a bus, talking to an unseen stranger who keeps asking her questions about why she is nervous.  The character unfolds the story of her life through memory and pain.  It would be a tough play to do for any actor but Gai held the audience captive with her intense portrayal. 

The script itself unveils the reality that you can walk away from your past but it is always with you. The character at the bus stop suffers from post traumatic stress from her life on the streets. She reveals an encounter with Willy Picton (convicted murderer of women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside) and that revelation is a chilling reminder of how close she came to death.

This was Elizabeth’s first play, and I look forward to more plays from her; she has an amazing story to tell and it plays out well on the stage. Works like Unwanted Dead or Alive strengthen the cause of ending violence against women.

Maryanne Pope’s new book, A Widow’s Awakening, is told with honesty and integrity.  The true story told in the style of creative non-fiction is an emotional, psychological and spiritual journey of Maryanne’s coming to terms with the death of her husband.

John Petropoulos was killed while working for the Calgary Police Department in the line of duty. He was attending a possible break and enter and fell through a false ceiling. Maryanne, only 32 at the time, struggles to make sense of his death and her loneliness. Her book is an honest portrayal of what it is like to get through the first year as a young widow.  She shares insight into a situation none of us would ever want to be in.

I found the details the most interesting.  Like a voyeur we are allowed to peek into Maryanne’s deepest moments.  It isn’t always pretty, but her integrity in telling the story brings us along on her journey. Her anger, sorrow, self-pity and moments of despair fall onto the pages like tears.  I can only imagine how difficult this was for her to write and the courage it took for her to make the decision to write it and publish it.  It took eight years for her to complete the book, as the telling was, of course, tangled up with her grieving. It is a compelling read.

Arising from John’s death, a non-profit organization has been set up to educate the public that workplace safety for emergency services personnel is a shared responsibility.

Pink Gazelle Productions is donating 20% of the proceeds from Maryanne’s book to the fund. Visit jpmf.ca for details. The book, published by Maryanne’s company Pink Gazelle Productions, can be ordered from www,pinkgazelle.com.  You can read a follow-up piece to Maryanne’s story on page 28.