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.

Wajdi Mouawad was born in Lebanon in 1968. Mouawad fled the war-torn country with his family; they lived in Paris for a few years, then settled in Montreal. In 1991, shortly after graduating from the National Theatre School, he embarked on a career as an actor, writer, director, and producer. In all his work, from his own playsâÂ?Â?a dozen so far, including Journée de noces chez les Cromagnons (Wedding Day at the Cro-MagnonsâÂ?Â?), Littoral (Tideline), and Incendies (Scorched- which served as the basis for the Academy Award nominated film Incendies)âÂ?Â?Wajdi Mouawad is guided by the central notion that âÂ?Â?all art bears witness to human existence through the prism of beauty.âÂ? From 2000âÂ?Â?2004 he was the artistic director of MontrealâÂ?Â?s Théâtre de QuatâÂ?Â?Sous; in 2005 he founded two companies specializing in the development of new work: Abé carré cé carré in Canada (with Emmanuel Schwartz), and Au carré de lâÂ?Â?hypoténuse in France. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honours for his writing and directing, including the 2000 Governor GeneralâÂ?Â?s Literary Award for Drama (Littoral), the 2002 Chevalier de lâÂ?Â?Ordre National des Arts et des Lettres (France) and the 2004 Prix de la Francophonie. He is currently Artistic Director of the National Arts Centre French Theatre.

Wajdi Mouawad's profile page

Linda Gaboriau is a dramaturge and literary translator renowned for her translations of some 100 plays and novels by some of Quebec's most prominent writers, including many of the Quebec plays best known to English Canadian audiences. After studying French language and literature at McGill University, she freelanced as a journalist for the CBC and the Montreal Gazette. She has worked in Canadian and Québécois theatre and is founding director of the Banff International Literary Translation Centre, where she directed numerous translation residencies and international exchange projects. Her third translation of a Wajdi Mouawad play Forests in 2010 won her a second Governor General's Literary Award for translation. Originally from Boston, Linda Gaboriau has been based in Montreal since 1963.
David Homel is a writer, journalist, filmmaker, and translator. He is the author of five previous novels, including The Speaking Cure, which won the J.I. Segal Award of the Jewish Public Library, and the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Best Fiction from the Quebec Writer's Federation. He has also written two children's books, including Travels with my Family, which was co-authored with his wife, Canadian children's author Marie-Louise Gay. He has translated several French works, receiving two Governor General's Literary Awards for translation. Homel was born and raised in Chicago and currently resides in Montreal.
Maureen Labonté is a dramaturge, translator and teacher. She has also coordinated a number of play-development programs in theatres and playwrights' centres across the country. In 2006, she was named head of program for the Banff playRites Colony at The Banff Centre. She was dramaturge at the Colony from 2003-2005. She was also literary manager in charge of play development at the Shaw Festival from 2002-2004. Previous to that, she worked at the National Theatre School of Canada (NTSC), first developing and running a pilot directing program and then coordinating the playwrighting program and playwrights' residency. She still teaches at NTSC. She has translated more than thirty Quebec plays into English. Recent translations include: The Bookshop by Marie-Josée Bastien, Everybody's WELLES pour tous by Patrice Dubois, Martin Labreque and The Tailor's Will by Michel Ouellette, Wigwam by Jean-Frédéric Messier and Bienvenue à (une ville dont vous êtes le touriste) by Olivier Choinière.

Linda Gaboriau's profile page

"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