Scorched

Original title Incendies
Première 4. september 2020, Veliki oder SNG Drama Ljubljana
The first Slovenian performance
Running time 5 hours. Two intermissions.

Director Nina Rajić Kranjac
Translator Eva Mahkovic
Dramaturg Tibor Hrs Pandur
Set designer Urša Vidic
Costume designer Marina Sremac
Composer Branko Rožman
Choreographer Tanja Zgonc
Lighting designer Borut Bučinel
Language consultant Tatjana Stanič
Assistant director (student) Jaka Smerkolj Simoneti
Assistant set designer Sara Slivnik
 

Cast
Nawal Pia Zemljič
Jeanne Nataša Keser
Simon Nejc Cijan Garlatti
Hermile Lebel Branko Šturbej
Antoine Timon Šturbej
Sawda Tina Vrbnjak/Nina Valič
Nihad Marko Mandić/Benjamin Krnetić
Ralph Boris Mihalj
Wahab Benjamin Krnetić
Jihane Nataša Keser
Elhame Tina Vrbnjak
Nazira Nina Valič
Doctor Rok Vihar
Abdessamad Tina Vrbnjak
Militiaman I Benjamin Krnetić
Militiaman II Timon Šturbej
Mansour, prison guide Zvone Hribar
Janitor Boris Mihalj
Malak Rok Vihar
Photographer Zvone Hribar
Chamseddine Janez Škof
 

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 the 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’s and Jeanne’s identities. The play Scorched explores universal questions and covers the entire spectrum of war’s impact on society’s psychological and social condition. It enquires about the possibility of reconciliation and the re-establishment of a community after the brutality and atrocities of neo-colonial wars. Moreover, it explores the issue of falsification of the past and silence, which is in many ways the guiding line of the performance. The play raises key questions about what and in the name of what or whom we remain silent, albeit as a society or as individuals, and what happens to those who take courage in breaking this 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 in overcoming the traumas of hatred and horror.