The Unplugging
Page 5
ELENA
he brought a fish, Bernadette, not a gun
BERN
maybe it's a Trojan fish
SEAMUS
they are out there. A few of them, and they are waiting for a signal from me.
The women react.
To come in and talk. To make reparations. To ask you to come back to the community.
ELENA
to come back?
SEAMUS
You were right, Elena. I was sent, back in mukwa geezis, to find out how you were doing. I thought I would take whatever you had, take it back—the community was in such bad shape. And then I got here, and you had plenty, and you shared.
ELENA
well, Bernadette did.
BERN
I only had anything because you shared with me
SEAMUS
and I stayed because I realized that if I learned, that would be way more useful to the village than just a side of moose
ELENA
teach a man to fish
SEAMUS
or to snare waaboos. But as I learned to fish, I couldn't help but learn other things too, and compare this life, the life you were building, with the life back in the village. I wanted to stay. I did. But.
ELENA
but you had a mission
SEAMUS
when I got back, things were worse. Laird wanted to raid you, take everything. I told him I wouldn't bring him here. He couldn't have done it anyway. He was sick, lots of the villagers were, people were dying. The ones who were healthy, we started to trap, to work for the village. Making soup, working in teams. People started getting better. Some didn't. Laird didn't. We nursed him—to death. When he died, we started to talk about new leaders. And—elder—leaders.
ELENA
I don't want to go back.
BERN
tell them thank you, nice story.
SEAMUS
the village needs you, Elena.
BERN snorts.
we need both of you.
I realize you have no reason to trust us, to trust me. But maybe if we can just sit, and talk, about possible futures.
ELENA
do you want your people to come in, Seamus? Have a cup of tea?
BERN
Elena!
SEAMUS
I think they would like that. But Elena. you should know. There are three of them. Will, he's a good man, handy, brave. And a woman and a boy. She won't come in if you don't want to see her. But the boy, Archer, he wouldn't let me come without him. He says you have something of his.
ELENA
Valerie is out there
BERN moves to ELENA.
BERN
are you all right?
ELENA
I'm fine.
BERN
are you sure?
ELENA
oh, Bernadette. You were right. You were right.
BERN
about what? I feel like I have been absolutely wrong about every single thing every step of the way—
ELENA
oh my
BERN
what?
ELENA
they must be hungry. Throw a couple of sticks on the fire, Bern, and the pan. Cut up those onions there, and maybe some garlic—
ELENA starts preparing for company. BERN does as she is told.
we are going to have to set up a summer kitchen soon, Bern, so we don't have to heat the house just to cook.
BERN
uh huh
SEAMUS
what's a summer kitchen?
BERN
I dunno. But I'm sure I'll find out. (pause) And then you will.
SEAMUS
you're a good teacher
BERN
(pause) you were a good student
SEAMUS
I can be again.
ELENA
Seamus. You can call them in.
She comes to the door, fussing a bit about her appearance. SEAMUS stands with his hand on the door.
They wait. They still wait.
SEAMUS
Wait, just a moment. I want to remember—everything.
They wait.
Blackout.
Acknowledgements
Many individuals and the organizations they represent have contributed to the development of this play: Donna-Michelle St. Bernard and Native Earth Performing Arts, Maureen Labonté and the Banff Playwrights Colony, Rachel Ditor and Bill Millerd and the Arts Club Theatre, Heidi Taylor and Martin Kinch and the Playwrights Theatre Centre.
In addition, I would like to acknowledge Velma Wallis and her retelling of the Athabaskan story Two Old Women, Liz Frankel at the Public Theater for her ongoing support, DD Kugler, Randy Reinholz and Philip Adams.
Yvette Nolan is a playwright, dramaturg and director. She has written several plays, including Annie Mae's Movement, BLADE and Job's Wife. She has been writer-in-residence at Brandon University, Mount Royal College and the Saskatoon Public Library, as well as playwright-in-residence at the National Arts Centre. Born in Saskatchewan to an Algonquin mother and an Irish immigrant father and raised in Manitoba, Yvette lived in the Yukon and Nova Scotia before moving to Toronto where she served as Artistic Director of Native Earth Performing Arts from 2003 to 2011.