Belvoir Street Theatre                                                                                          
until September 7
Bookings (02) 9699 3444
 
Scorched is an intense play. But then enduring years of civil war is an intense experience, or perhaps more aptly put, a traumatic experience, and one survived by many immigrants who have eventually made this country their home. My high school friend Esme Nasser emigrated from Lebanon with her family and I have fond memories of her dad cracking jokes that went straight over my head. But what I did realise at 12 was that the Lebanese tell jokes about themselves, their circumstances and the idiots they share borders with...much like everyone else.

At this point, I don’t want to mislead you because Scorched is certainly not a comedy about the Lebanese civil war. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Yet while the references to that country are clear enough and while Lebanese-Canadian playwright Wajdi Mouawad admits drawing from his own experiences, the story of the play – the disruption to normal life by war – could take place anywhere. Like humour, violence is universal. This beautifully resonant play is not about the opposing sides – it never identifies them. It is not about the political or religious origins of the conflict – they are never explained. Instead the play speaks for and about those who witness and suffer wars. It examines the courage and forgiveness sought by survivors so the human spirit can hold out and life can go on.

Scorched follows a twin brother and sister from Montreal, Simon (Ashley Lyons) and Janine (Yael Stone), whose dead mother’s will requests they return to the country of her birth to find their missing father who they have never met, and a brother they never knew about. The twins are polar opposites; Simon, an amateur boxer, is furious with his mother and reluctant to go, while the outwardly calm and cerebral Janine is intrigued. What then is played out in the amazing sandbox of a set designed by Stephen Curtis are scenes from the mother’s life spanning 50 years. The character of the mother, Nawal, is played by three actors, Paula Arundell, Gillian Jones and recent NIDA graduate Zindzi Okenyo. The rest of the multicultural cast includes Hazem Shammas, George Spartels and Brian Lipson in a standout performance as the hilarious malapropistic solicitor, Alphonese Lebel. The talented jazz musician Carl Dewhurst’s live accompaniment is another highlight.

Director Neil Armfield has extended himself admirably by staging this epic work. Australian audiences tend to be far more suspicious of passion than they are of cynicism, and this is a deeply passionate work. I loved it.

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