«The Shape of a Girl» and «Jewel»

Ian C. Nelson is librarian emeritus and former assistant director of
libraries at the University of Saskatchewan Library. He is also
dramaturge for the Festival de la Dramaturgie des Prairies.

Two shocking news stories that left their mark on the Canadian psyche
are the basis for these dramas of personal reflection.

The Shape of a Girl (2001) revolves around the 1997 killing of Reena
Virk by a group of school bullies. Here the single female character
recounts a situation that almost parallels the news event (noted in
details but never named). Chillingly she comments on the rigid hierarchy
of the pecking order and the frightening herd psychology of her friend,
who bully and mistreat their own victim. The play was first produced at
Alberta Theatre Projects and subsequently remounted by Green Thumb for a
national tour. Although it resonates loudly with the collective anguish
at a horrific news event, the play deftly eschews the dryness usually
associated with documentary vérité. Braidie, its monologue character,
has a complete life of her own, with her own school entourage and family
situation. Quite remarkably, MacLeod has found an authentic voice for
this young girl that allows her to articulate profound and appropriate
reactions to what she experiences and observes. This worthy drama will
provoke much discussion; the original production received four Betty
Mitchell Theatre Awards, including Best New Script.

Jewel (1985) follows an Alberta woman’s journey of grief and healing
after her husband is lost in the sinking of the Ocean Ranger oil rig off
the coast of Newfoundland on Valentine’s Day, 1982. Speaking to her
lost husband, she remembers “Valentine’s through the ages” and
recalls their life together—personal messages transmitted through a
northern radio station and the Ocean Ranger tragedy itself. “I’m in
shock but I relive your death [...] It always felt so mean.” In the
end, love gets through and the widow feels sustained enough by it to get
on with her life. Jewel was nominated for both the Chalmers and Dora
Mavor Moore Awards. MacLeod, writer-in-residence for seven years at
Tarragon Theatre, received a 1991 Governor General’s Award for her
play Amigo’s Blue Guitar.