In Seven Days, a play by Toronto-based Jordi Mand, deals with a family’s response to MAID – the process of allowing a terminally ill person to receive medical assistance in dying. 

The idea for the play arose when a friend of Mand’s father announced that he had qualified for MAID and planned to proceed. His decision sparked intense debate within the Jewish community and within Mand’s own family. 

“I found the discussions surrounding his choice fascinating – how such a deeply personal decision could ripple outward, provoking strong reactions from those around him,” Mand says. 

“When a subject stirs such vastly different opinions, I know there’s a play in it.”

Writing In Seven Days was both emotionally and structurally challenging. 

“The subject matter is deeply personal, polarizing, and emotionally charged,” Mand says. “I wanted to ensure the play didn’t take a stance but instead created space for multiple perspectives to coexist, allowing audiences to engage with the moral and ethical complexities on their own terms.” 

She also wanted to honour the people and experiences that inspired the play by crafting dialogue that portrays grief and difficult conversations realistically. “I thought a lot about how people speak when emotions run high – how love, fear, and frustration can tangle in the same sentence.”

Authenticity also means humour. “Life doesn’t pause for grief or difficult choices; even in the most serious moments, there are flashes of humour, absurdity, and connection,” says Mand. 

“That’s what makes these experiences feel real. For me, humour isn’t about undermining the gravity of the situation – it’s about making the characters and their relationships feel authentic.”

The playwright conducted considerable research to achieve this realness, listening to various perspectives within her family and speaking with rabbis and members of the Jewish community about MAID. She also consulted doctors and nurses to gain a deeper understanding from a health care perspective. 

“These conversations were invaluable in shaping the play, ensuring that the characters’ perspectives were grounded in real experiences and that the ethical, medical, and spiritual tensions felt authentic.” 

The title and timeline of the play were deeply intentional. 

“I wanted a structure that felt intimate yet urgent,” Mand says. “This time frame represents the countdown to an irreversible choice, a period in which family, friends, and the community are forced to confront their beliefs, their grief, and their love for the person at the centre of it all.” 

The number seven works thematically, too. 

“In many traditions, including Judaism, seven symbolizes cycles, endings, and new beginnings,” Mand explains.

“In Jewish mourning practices, shiva is traditionally a seven-day period of grieving after someone passes, a time for reflection, tension, and connection – all themes that run through the play.”

She also notes, “While the play is deeply rooted in Jewish perspectives on life, death, and autonomy, its themes are universal. At its core, it’s a story about family, about love, and about how we navigate the hardest choices of our lives.”

Mand hopes her play sparks conversation. 

“In Seven Days isn’t about providing easy answers –it’s about creating space for audiences to engage with a deeply personal, complex, and often divisive topic. I want people to leave the theatre still thinking about it, still talking about it, whether they agree or disagree with the choices made in the play.”