Reflections on SCORCHED

After you have seen the play, reflect on the following points:

What would have been the advantages and disadvantages if Nawal had decided:
1. to tell her children that they were the offspring of a prison rape
2. to tell her children about their father after the war-crimes tribunal
3. never to tell her children about their father or half-brother
Instead, she refused to speak after the war-crimes tribunal and led her children to find out about their father and half-brother on their own after her death. Was this the best decision?

Consider the quotes below. Who says them? What is the significance in the play? How do they relate to the overall theme of the play? Why are these lines repeated?
Childhood is like a knife stuck in the throat.
Now that we are together everything is better.

Although the setting is presumably Lebanon, the specific country is never mentioned. What elements of Nawal's story are universal? What are some other countries that this story might have taken place? Look through your Maclean's magazines to find current stories where similar tragedies and struggles are taking place today.

How does live theatre differ from cinema? Consider the use of space, lighting, setting and props, character changes, music, etc. What effect did the play as a whole have on you? Do you think a movie would have the same effect? Be able to explain your observation.