The Bush Pilot

Characters

3 male and 3 female roles

Sandy Small, trained mechanic and pilot from London; early thirties; charming, stubborn and daring; extremely attractive (slim, long hair, feminine curves); pretends to be a man on paper in order to get the job as a pilot for the St. Benedict mission station in the Brazilian jungle; has had one long relationship with a man so far; thinks that she is not made for long-term relationships; falls in love with Billy; after the plane crash, they are finally a couple.

Dr. Billy Norman, head of the mission station; mid thirties; gruff, unapproachable and initially tries everything to get rid of Sandy; left the private clinic in Liverpool to help people in the jungle and to forget the fatal accident of his wife Mary; fights back his feelings for Sandy for a long time; gets bitten by a poisonous snake and fights with death, but survives and finally confesses his love to Sandy. Beth Holloway, Sandy’s best friend from playschool days and now flat mate in London; not keen on the idea that her friend wants to go into the jungle; small role at the beginning of the story.

Joaquim Santo, approximately 20-year-old Brazilian; grew up in a village in the jungle; works as a nurse and is Billy’s right hand at the mission; admires Billy and is nearly always at his side.

Sister Pilar, nun at the mission station; caring; the only woman whom Billy accepts around him; wise and kind; notices very quickly that Billy and Sandy are actually made for each other; the rumour that the two have died almost causes her to lose her belief in God.

Father Andreas, a rebel priest in his earlier days; transferred to the mission for disciplinary reasons; Billy’s silent, gruff demeanour reminds him of himself when he was still young; Father Andreas is at peace with himself today and extremely kind.

The following characters are not personalised:

Sean Brandon, previous pilot at the station; has recently died in a plane crash in the jungle.

Mary, Billy’s ex-wife; died many years ago in a car accident; only mentioned.