Mouawad’s modern-day tragedy Scorched focuses on the story of three people: the enigmatic Nawal and her children, the twins, Simon and Jeanne. The harmony of their coexistence is disrupted by Nawal’s sudden loss of will to live and her adamant decision to remain silent for life, without any explanation of her motive. In her will, she entrusts her adult daughter and son with a special task: Simon must find their father, whom they thought was dead, and Jeanne must find their brother, whom they did not even know they had. What follows is a long journey to the places of their origin, replete with difficult questions and hushed-up secrets, which radically transforms Simon and Jeanne’s identities. Scorched, the play and the staging, explore universal questions and cover the entire spectrum of impact that war has on the psychological and social condition of society. They enquire the possibility of reconciliation and the re-establishment of a community after the brutality and atrocities of neo-colonial wars. They also explore the issue of falsification of the past and silence, which is in many ways the guiding line of the performance. They raise key questions about what and in the name of what we as a society and individuals are constantly silent about, and what happens to those who take courage and break that silence in the name of a higher goal or promise. Struggling with the multifaceted brutal nature of the hushed-up family past, Scorched explores the possibility of love as overcoming the traumas of hatred and horror.
Tibor Hrs Pandur