Scorched
By Wadji Mouawad
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
Directed by Richard Rose
By Daina Valiulis
Returning again to the Tarragon Theatre is the Dora Mavor Moore winner of Best Production, Scorched. Exploring multiple themes woven into a complex web, Scorched explores heartbreak, war, eternal bonds (especially between women and their children through the generations), the passing of time, the enduring, mysterious nature of silence, and the enormous power of forgiveness in unimaginable horror.
The story begins on a sand-filled stage with a background that looks like shards of pottery: Nawal, the main character, has just died, leaving behind two envelopes for her twins Simon (Sergio Di Zio) and Janine (Sophie Goulet). They are each given one of the envelopes by a notary (Alon Nashman) who provides welcome comic relief throughout the intense dramatic scenes, and told to seek out their father, who they have been told died a war hero, and their older brother, who they didn’t know existed.
Silence plays a key role and is deafening, manifesting itself in the 500 cassette tapes of Nawal’s silence on her death bed and permeating the first scene of the show until Simon explodes in rage against the mysterious stranger who bore him, refusing to take on her final request. The mission (for the time being) is up to Janine, and the story unfolds bit by bit as she interviews the people who “knew” her mother. Intertwined are scenes from Nawal’s intense and extremely painful past. Nawal, played by three actresses (Janick Hebert, Sarah Orenstein, and Nicola Lipman, who portray her at different stages of her life), becomes pregnant and is forced to give up the child for adoption immediately after his birth. She spends the rest of her life searching for him while also becoming involved in the war that tears her homeland apart.
The acting was superb across the board; however, I was blown away by the vulnerability, bravery, intensity, commitment, and truth of Janick Hebert’s performance as Nawal from ages 14 to 19. Relatively new to the theatre scene (having just graduated from Ryerson’s theatre program), she was a standout, balancing complete abandonment to Young Nawal’s rollercoaster emotions and remaining in control of them as a performer. I was ready to follow her story from her first appearance.
The sandy set did an excellent job of reminding the audience of the fluidity and elusiveness of time. As the audience took their seats, it poured in a stream from the ceiling onto the stage like the sand in an hourglass. The characters’ imprints made different mounds and patterns as they tread on it, got buried in it, bled and cried on it. A real demonstration of how anger or past experiences affect future generations and how it can take generations to heal old wounds.
Members of the audience sniffled toward the end as the older Nawal gave her final few speeches, her story making us grateful for all that we have in our lives. Overall, an evening of intense drama and rich, complex, perfect storytelling. Be sure to take advantage of the show’s return.
Sounds like a good one, I wish I’d seen it. Check out what writer Wajdi Mouawad has to say about the recent $40b arts cuts over at Zoilus. Some good conversation going on over there, plus an pretty children-of-the-corn image of Harper. (Has anyone else seen the kitten photoshoot? Priceless.)