Scorched
Wajdi Mouawad
translated by Linda Gaboriau
by
an NAC English Theatre / Tarragon Theatre (Toronto)
English-language world premiere coproduction
Study Guide
THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ENGLISH THEATRE
PROGRAMMES FOR STUDENT AUDIENCES
2006-2007 SEASON
Peter Hinton
Artistic Director, English Theatre
This Study Guide was written and researched by Jim McNabb for the National Arts Centre, English
Theatre, February, 2007. It may be used solely for educational purposes.
The National Arts Centre English Theatre values the feedback of teachers on the content and format of
its Study Guides. We would appreciate your comments on past Study Guides, on this current one, or
suggestions on ways to improve future Study Guides. Comments may be directed to Martina Kuska
either by email at mkuska@nac-cna.ca or by fax at (613) 943-1401.
Theatre5 Media Partner
part of the NAC’s
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“There is a certain reticence these days to tell our stories, a tendency to position the story as a
trap for intelligence, so that the latter can only be expressed through formalism pushed to the
limit. … What, then, are our stories today – or, to put it another way, what stories can we
trust to provide a gathering place for our individual and collective souls? What role do time
and space play in a story, in this age where concepts of time, place and action bear no
relation to the sense of disconnectedness – dissipation, even – that informs our era,
mutilating happiness, God, desire …? Fictional time, imaginary time, time transformed.
How all of this can coalesce in space to become a story which, as always, transports us into
the unknown – precisely because, in history as in life, we cannot predict what will come
next.” % . /
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drawn by its quality of life and its reputation as an open, peaceful and caring society that
welcomes newcomers and values diversity.A
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intraspecies predators who use charm,
manipulation, intimidation, and violence to control others and to satisfy their own selfish
needs. Lacking in conscience and in feelings for others, they cold-bloodedly take what they
want and do as they please, violating social norms and expectations without the slightest
sense of guilt or regret. What is missing, in other words, are the very qualities that allow a
human being to live in social harmony.” 4
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SIMON:
The university is looking for you. Your colleagues are looking for you. Your
students are looking for you. They keep calling me, everyone’s calling me:
“Janine has stopped coming to the university. We don’t know where Janine
is. The students don’t know what to do.” I’ve been calling you. You don’t
answer.
JANINE:
What do you want from me, Simon? Why have you come to my house?
SIMON:
Because everyone thinks you’re dead.
JANINE:
I’m fine. You can leave.
SIMON:
No, you’re not fine and I won’t leave.
JANINE:
Don’t shout.
SIMON:
You’re starting to act like her.
JANINE:
How I act is my own business, Simon.
SIMON:
No, I’m sorry, but it’s my business, too. I’m all you have left, and you’re all I
have left. And you’re acting like her. You’re becoming the same as her.
JANINE:
I’m not doing anything.
SIMON:
You’ve stopped talking. Like her. One day she comes home and she locks
herself in her room. She sits there. One day. Two days. Three days. She
doesn’t eat. Or drink. She disappears. Once. Twice. Three times. Four
times. She comes home. Refuses to talk. Her phone rang, she wouldn’t
answer. Your phone rings, you won’t answer. She locked herself in. You lock
yourself in. You refuse to talk.
JANINE:
Simon, come sit beside me. Listen. Listen for a bit. Listen carefully.
Scorched Study Guide – page 14
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Janine gives Simon one of her earphones and he presses it to his ear.
Janine presses the other earphone to her ear. They both listen to the silence.
JANINE:
There. Listen. You can hear her breathing. You can hear her move.
SIMON:
You’re listening to silence!
JANINE:
It’s her silence. There are many things behind that silence, but we can’t hear
them.
[ Nawal (age 19) and Sawda are walking side by side. Nawal is teaching
Sawda the Arabic alphabet.]
NAWAL: Aleph, bé, tâ, szâ, jîm, hâ, khâ …
SAWDA: Aleph, bé, tâ, szâ, jîm, hâ, khâ …
NAWAL: Dâl, dââl, rrâ, sîn, shîn, sâd, dââd …]
SIMON:
You’re going crazy, Janine.
JANINE:
What do you know about me? About her? Nothing. You know nothing. How
can we go on living now?
SIMON:
How? You throw the tapes away. You go back to the university. You give
your courses and you continue your Ph.D.
JANINE:
I don’t give a damn about my Ph.D.!
SIMON:
You don’t give a damn about anything!
JANINE:
There’s no point in trying to explain to you, you never understand anything.
1 plus 1 equals 2. You don’t even understand that.
SIMON:
I forgot, we have to talk to you in numbers! If your math professor told you
you were going crazy, you might listen to him. But your brother – forget it!
He’s too dumb, too slow!
JANINE:
I didn’t say that.
SIMON:
That’s what you said.
Scorched Study Guide – page 15
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JANINE:
I said I didn’t give a damn about my Ph.D. There’s something in my mother’s
silence that I want to understand, something I need to understand.
SIMON:
And I’m telling you there’s nothing to understand!
JANINE:
Fuck off!
SIMON:
ou fuck off!]
JANINE:
Leave me alone, Simon. We don’t owe each other anything. I’m your sister,
not your mother. You’re my brother, not my father!
SIMON:
It’s all the same thing.
JANINE:
No, it’s not the same.
SIMON:
Give me a break!
JANINE:
Leave me alone, Simon.
SIMON:
The notary is expecting us in three days, we have to sign the papers. Are you
going to come?... You’re going to come, Janine…. Janine… answer me, are
you going to come?
JANINE:
Yes, Go away now.
Simon leaves.
[Nawal and Sawda are walking side by side.
SAWDA: Aleph, bé, tâ, szâ, jîm, hâ, khâ, Dâl, dââl, rrâ, sîn, shîn, sâd … Tââ
… oh, no
NAWAL: Start over.]
Janine is listening to her mother’s silence.
JANINE:
I know you’re there. I know it. Why didn’t you say anything? Say
something, speak. Speak to me. You’re alone. Antoine isn’t with you. You
know that he’s recording you. You know that he won’t listen to anything.
You know that he’ll give us the cassettes. You know. You’ve figured it all
out. You know. So speak. Why won’t you say something to me? Why won’t
you say something to me?
Janine smashes her walkman on the ground. End of scene.
Scorched Study Guide – page 16
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