Theatre Quadra and the Whaletown Community Club will host Cougar Annie Tales – a treat for lovers of story, song, West Coast history – and gardens.
On Friday at the Quadra Island Community Centre and on Saturday at the Gorge Hall on Cortes Island, “Pick of the Fringe” Actress/ Singer Katrina Kadoski stars in a multimedia one-woman-show about the legendary Cougar Annie. Nominated for Best New Play by the Victoria Critics Choice awards.
“Her musical ode to Cougar Annie is a treat to behold,” John Threlfell said in CVV magazine.
In the early 1900’s the legendary west coast settler Cougar Annie was anything but a typical woman. She trapped over 70 cougars, homesteaded a rainforest bog, opened a remote post office, and outlived 4 husbands.
California-born Ada Annie Jordan settled in the Clayoquot coastal rainforest in 1915 with her first husband and three young children. A five-acre garden that she carved out of the wilderness provided food and income throughout her long life. The bounty on cougars supplemented her income and she earned her nickname of Cougar Annie by shooting over 70 of the animals. Annie gave birth to eight more children in this remote location, and in fact rarely left the property until old age and blindness forced her removal to Port Alberni, where she died at the age of 97.
Singer/songwriter Kat Kadoski lived in Clayoquot Sound for three years caretaking Cougar Annie’s garden and immersing herself in the folklore surrounding the legendary pioneer-settler. The show has become a poignant theatre piece after workshops and direction from Ross Desprez and more recently Kate Rubin. Drawing upon many sources, including Annie’s family, COUGAR ANNIE TALES uses dramatic narrative, images, letters, and original compositions to celebrate the unconventional life of one of BC’s most colourful characters.
Of particular interest to gardeners and garden historians, Book Bonanza will have copies of “Cougar Annie’s Garden” by Nanaimo author Margaret Horsfield for sale at the Quadra Production; books will also be available at the Cortes performance.
Doors open 7 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m. Tickets $15 at the door. Refreshments available
www.katrinakadoski.com