2025 Carol Bolt Award Recipient
Supported by Playwrights Canada Press, Scirocco Drama, Alberta Playwrights Network, Manitoba Association of Playwrights, Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre, Playwrights Workshop Montreal, and Saskatchewan Playwrights Centre.
In Seven Days by Jordi Mand
When Rachel returns home, her biggest worry is bringing the right bagels for her stepmother. But when her father announces he will end his life through medically assisted death in seven days, everything changes. Torn between love, faith, and conscience, Rachel must decide: does she try to change his mind or honor his wishes? Unfolding over a week, In Seven Days explores the emotional and ethical complexities of Sam’s choice and its impact on his family and community. At its core, this play is about the universal experience of saying goodbye to a parent and a parent choosing what’s right for them. Regardless of religious or cultural identity, it’s a deeply human story about love, loss, and the weight of letting go.
The peer assessment panel said: “In Seven Days is a beautifully structured piece. It has a fractured musicality in its language that is innovative, emotional, and deeply impactful.”
Celebrated writer Jordi Mand is known for her impactful contributions to theatre, film, and television. Mand’s globally acclaimed plays, including Between the Sheets, Caught, This Will Be Excellent, Brontë: The World Without, and a new stage adaptation of the literary classic Little Women, have been translated and published internationally. Mand has collaborated with many of Canada’s most prominent theatre companies, such as the Stratford Festival, Tarragon Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Nightwood Theatre, the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company, the Grand Theatre, and many more. She was a writer for the hit CTV drama Cardinal and has participated in numerous development rooms for Canadian television shows. She is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada and the Canadian Film Centre’s Bell Prime Time TV Program. Upcoming: Jordi has new plays in development with the Stratford Festival and the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company.
Special thanks to Carol Bolt Award Peer Assessment Panelists: Karen Hines (Chair), Philip Akin, and Robert Tsonos.