Jordi Mand is getting to bring her latest play In Seven Days home to Toronto! After a successful run at the Grand Theatre in London, ON, Mand’s play is coming to the Greenwin Theatre in May. I got to send some questions to Jordi about her process, what it’s like writing for stage vs screen, and her inspiration behind In Seven Days.

1. Could you please introduce yourself to my readers and talk a bit about your role with In Seven Days?

I wrote In Seven Days! As a playwright, I have had 6 world premieres of my plays and those shows have gone on to have wonderful, big, beautiful lives with productions all across Canada, the US, the UK, New Zealand, Iran, Slovenia, Albania, and Italy. My plays have won all kinds of awards, been translated into multiple languages, and published. For TV, I have had the chance to be part of a number of shows as well as development rooms for new series. I am in the process of developing my own TV series at the moment with Neshama Entertainment. And for film, I have been working on the screen adaptation of a Canadian thriller novel.

2. In Seven Days deals with some very heavy subject matter which was quite controversial not that long ago. What was your inspiration behind the story and how did you navigate the gravity of it?

Several years ago a family friend qualified for MAID and decided to go through with it. He was my father’s childhood friend and an active member of the London Jewish community, so his decision had a significant impact on those around him. I remember talking to my brother about it and he said to me “I don’t understand how someone could choose to do something like that.” I asked him if our father (who we both love and adore) was sick enough to qualify for MAID and decided to go through with it, would he feel the same way? He said, “Yes” and part of me understood exactly how he felt. But as someone who has dealt with serious health issues myself as well as having watched my husband, mother, and grandparents deal with serious health issues, I also completely understood why someone would decide to go through with MAID. This was really the moment the play was born.

For me, humour plays such a huge part of this piece. Yes, it’s about death and learning how to say goodbye to the people we love… But it’s also really, really funny. There is as much laughter from our audiences as there are tears. Which is so satisfying to experience. The show has been billed as a “comedy about death” but as one critic said after seeing the production in London at The Grand Theatre in February… “It should be billed as a comedy about life”.

3. I like the parallel between Sam’s decision of living for the next seven days and the seven days you sit shiva after someone’s death. Could you please talk a bit about how Jewish funeral practices and traditions are infused into this play?

The play delves into the issues this family is facing leading up to Sam (the father’s) decision to proceed with MAID. We actually don’t even get into the funeral that much – though we know that Sam has made as many arrangements as possible ahead of time so that the grieving process is as easy as possible for those he loves most after he is gone. There are plenty of other Jewish practices and traditions that are brought up in the play. But because each character is trying to process Sam’s decision, the focus is on that vs. what happens from a religious standpoint after he is gone.

4. What’s the biggest difference you find in writing for TV or Film versus Theatre?

I find writing for theatre and film more similar than writing for TV. The biggest difference with TV is that you are required to craft a story in such a way that viewers will come back for the next and the next and the next episode. That is a huge driver of television. And the pressure to hook people and have them come back is even greater now that streamers control so much content. With a play or a film, a writer doesn’t have to worry about that in the same way. Granted, with plays there are sometimes intermissions, and one hopes that audience members will come back to watch the rest of the show. But one isn’t worried about whether they will come back again and again to experience the story. In terms of the difference between theatre and film… film is such a visual medium. You can show more, travel more, and depict landscapes more whereas theatre tends to be more stationary. A huge, sprawling location that you might see in a film may only be conveyed by a few pieces of furniture in a piece of theatre. So, while the length can be similar and the story has a relatively contained beginning, middle, and end are the same… The way we tell stories in theatre is often very different than on screen.

5. Do you have a favourite moment from the initial rehearsal process or run at the Grand Theatre in London?

We are blessed with such an incredible team on this show. And we had a chance to do a few workshops before we officially started rehearsals. So being together on that very first day at The Grand Theatre in the winter and hearing our wonderful actors read the play together and seeing our amazing designers present us their vision for the show… That morning is a morning I will never forget. It was pretty magical.

I want to thank Jordi for taking the time to answer my questions. I’m really looking forward to seeing and reviewing her work! In Seven Days runs from May 4 to 16 at the Greenwin Theatre in the Meridian Arts Centre. For more information and tickets, visit: http://www.hgjewishtheatre.com/2023-2024-InSevenDays.html

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