Carleton Welcomes Wajdi Mouawad

On Wednesday February 8th, 2012 at 3:00pm, the Carleton Community will have the chance to hear internationally known literary award winner, playwright and current director of the French theater at the National Art Center,Wajdi Mouawad.

Wajdi Mouawad will be discussing the city of Ottawa as a stage to perform and create in French. In March 2008, he was appointed as artistic director of French theater at the National Arts Centre for a five year term. With the term coming to an end, he will be speaking at Carleton to address the following questions: how difficult is it to present theater in French in Ottawa? How is theater a tool to teach outside of the classroom? An interpreter will be on site for the question and answer portion of the lecture, as the talk will be given primarily in French.

In his writing and in his directing, Wajdi Mouawad explores the tension between individual freedom and the renunciation of the self, quoting Kafka on the subject: “In the struggle between yourself and the world, back the world.” The general public will have heard of Incendies, translated by Linda Gaboriau as Scorched, which premiered in France in 2003.  In 2010, it was adapted as a film and was directed by Denis Villeneuve.  The film was subsequently nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film.

The Wajdi Mouawad lecture will occur on Wednesday February 8th at 3:00pm in Dunton Tower 2017.  A wine and cheese will follow the lecture. This event was organized with the generous support of Wajdi Mouawad, the French Department, the School of Canadian Studies and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Welcome to all, but seating is limited. Information: anne_trepanier@carleton.ca