Playwrights Canada Press Scorched book Paperback 160 pages

Wajdi Mouawad's writing is powerful; a beautifully penned story that paves a path to a mother's unspeakable pain. The closer Janine and Simon get to finding the source of her silence, the closer they are to uncovering a tragedy so horrific it will engulf the world they know. Continuing his quest for sense and beauty, Wajdi Mouawad has plunged into the turbulent depths of writing to discover, washed up midst the sand dunes, fiery tales lost in the mists of time. Making their way through the dunes are Nawal's twin children, Janine and Simon, who want to solve the mystery of their origins. In retracing the bitter history of their mother, other characters come into the story—witnesses or key players able to assist in the investigation. Carried aloft by poetic language, the inquiry pursued by Janine and Simon unfolds in a dreamlike atmosphere that cultivates the mystery surrounding a knife thrust into the heart of childhood.

"This haunting work may be the best piece of theatre this country has produced this millennium. " —Globe and Mail "Mouawad knows when to lighten the load with broad comedy, when to scent the air with poetry that lingers long afterwards, and when to use the inevitable building blocks of good dramatic structure to create a towering edifice of pain everyone must climb. " —The Toronto Star