Since Incendies, a gravitational force has inevitably drawn all theatre lovers towards anything bearing the name of Wajdi Mouawad. But nothing that this man creates is just anything. In Incendies, the role of Nawal Marwan was played by Annick Bergeron for 10 years, and she trusted Mouawad with this portentous monologue that is Soeurs. The piece is part of what is termed Domestic Cycle, a series that is in progress and is still unfinished. It started with Seuls, which was played by Mouawad himself, to speak of the figure of the son. After sisters, the father, mother and siblings are yet to come. Personalities tied together by blood relationships that will comprise the pieces of a puzzle through which – via the perspective of private lives – he takes a personal look at history.

Soeurs starts with a storm and a song. Who hasn’t suddenly felt, listening to a song in an extreme situation, that the floor dropped out from under their feet and an insurmountable change occurred in their lives? Quebec diva Ginette Reno sings Je ne suis qu’une chanson (I am But a Song) , while Geneviève Bergeron drives her Ford Taurus in a terrible snowstorm while headed towards Ottawa, where she has a conference related to her work as a conflict mediator. Geneviève is one and is many; she is Annick, the actress herself, theatrical sister of Wajdi; and she is Nayla, the playwright’s real older sister, who also worked with him in the design and development of the performance. He asked her to work with him and a show was the fruit of their collaboration that calls upon fraternity as a hotbed of affection and love, and encourages sorority as a bond of similarity and solidarity between women.

Soeurs premiered in 2014, and has been touring the world for several years now. It is tough, nigh impossible even, to find impressions, opinions or critiques that do not sing praises of its genius. Far from being set in stone, the monologue has continued to evolve since, otherwise, this emotional tapestry would lose its intensity. Supported by a scenic device replete with inventiveness and innovation and video work that gives the production an almost cinematographic intensity at times, Bergeron’s work is simply exceptional. Viewers may even add this show to their own private Olympian moments of unforgettable events experienced in a theatre seat.