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“We both come from the same land, the same language, the same history, and each land, each language, each history is responsible for its people, and each people is responsible for their traitors and their heroes.”
Lebanese-French-Canandian playwright Wajdi Mouawad’s epic family story about the search for reconciliation and truth, Scorched, is coming to the Upstairs Belvoir St Theatre in July for its Australian premiere.
Scorched is the story of Janine and her twin brother Simon and their gruelling journey into the mystery of their mother’s life. She has recently died and the twins set about discovering the unspoken truths of their family.
As their story progresses through a Middle East torn apart by war, the twins are brought face to face with who they are and where they’re from. Their origins, like a dream, unravel before them as they enact their mother’s final request.
According to Director Neil Armfield (Toy Symphony, Keating!, Exit the King), Scorched is about trust and story, and the trust we must place in the storyteller to deliver us safely to the unknown.
“Scorched is a rich and beautiful theatrical fable; it asks the crucial question of us all – where does our story begin?
“With Company B’s production, I have the pleasure of working with a huge and hugely talented cast that also stem from a range of countries and origins – from Palestine to Mauritius to Greece and Italy – and the coming together of this diversity for Mouawad’s masterpiece is going to be electric,” he said.
French playwright Wajdi Mouawad is one of the most acclaimed writers in the French-speaking world. Born in Lebanon, raised in Paris and currently residing in Quebec, Mouawad has delved deeply into humans’ sense of attachment, our struggle for reconciliation and our unfailing ability to survive in the face of war and terror.
On 24 July the journey begins for Simon and Janine, played by Ashley Lyons (Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, Home and Away, All Saints) and Yael Stone (The Kid, All Saints, West). Paula Arundell (Blackbird, Love Lies Bleeding, Paul), Gillian Jones (Antigone, Exit the King, Lucky Miles) and Zindzi Okenyo (Angels in America, The Vertical Hour, Deathly Interventions) play their mother Nawal, and Adam Hatz (The Last Highway, Away, All Saints), Brian Lipson (Grace, The History Boys, A Secret Life of Us), Lucia Mastrantone (Romeo and Juliet, All Saints, Look Both Ways) and Hazem Shammas (Antigone, Paul, The Gates of Egypt) and George Spartels (The Spook, All Saints, Playschool) provide the thread that brings their chronicle together.
Nawal: “Now that we’re together, everything feels better.”
“Scorched plunges the audience into an epic, multi-generational, time-twisting piece of storytelling, one of the most moving pieces of theatre I've seen in years.” – Now Toronto
“Mouawad not only wrote a devastating play, he created a powerful piece of theatrical poetry.” – The Moscow Times
“An extraordinary piece about violence, dignity, national guilt, national pride and human determination.” – The Moscow Times
About Wajdi Mouawad
Lebanon-born, French-raised Quebec-based actor/playwright/director, Wajdi Mouawad has established himself as a powerful and uniquely original player on the contemporary theatre scene.
Born in Lebanon in 1968, he fled the war-torn country with his family before they settled in Montreal after spending a few years in Paris.
Wajdi has an intensely personal, poetic style that has proved highly popular in France and Quebec. The original version of this play, Incendies, has seen over 100 French-language productions, and Wajdi named a Chevalier des Artes et des Lettres by the French Government.
Company B presents
Scorched
by Wajdi Mouawad
Translated by Linda Gaboriau
Directed by Neil Armfield
Set Designer Stephen Curtis
Lighting Designer Nigel Levings
Sound Designer Steve Toulmin
Costume Designer Anna Borghesi
Assistant Director Wayne Blair
Stage Manager Luke McGettigan
Composers Alan John and Carl Dewhurst
Assistant Stage Manager Jamie Twist
With: Paula Arundell, Adam Hatz, Gillian Jones, Brian Lipson, Ashley
Lyons, Lucia Mastrantone, Zindzi Okenyo, Hazem Shammas, George
Spartels, Yael Stone
Venue: Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills
Dates: 24 July – 7 September
Previews: Saturday 19 July at 8pm and Sunday 20 July at 5pm. All preview tickets $33
Opening night: Wednesday 23 July
Times: Tuesday 6.30pm, Wednesday to Friday 8pm, Saturday 2pm & 8pm, Sunday 5pm.
Tickets: Full $54. Seniors (excluding Fri/Sat evenings) and Groups 10+ $45. Concession $33.
Student Rush $25 for Tuesday 6.30pm and Saturday 2pm, available from 10am on the day (subject to availability)
Bookings: 9699 3444 or www.belvoir.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=13004666868
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Location: Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills
Contact: Siobhan Robertson |
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Thursday, 08 January 2009
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