A Distinct Society: Playwright Kareem Fahmy on Canada-US Border during Muslim Ban

This weekend I had the pleasure of seeing the premiere of Egyptian playwright Kareem Fahmy’s thoughtful play, A Distinct Society, in the Bay Area. The play takes place inside the Haskell Free Library, a public library straddling the US-Canada border with a front entry in Vermont. The title references the Quebecois background of the librarian, Manon, who once voted for separatism, who posts on social media that the library can be a meeting place for families divided by their inability to enter the US. during the Muslim travel ban. An Iranian father and daughter try to meet one another there on numerous occssions, but they are blocked by a roving Border Patrol officer who uses duct tape to secure a border between the children’s section and the nonfiction section of the library. There is love, there is betrayal of trust, and there is fear for the humanity of migrant families amid intensifying immigration enforcement.

The version I saw took place in Mountain Valley as a joint production of Theatreworks of Silicon Valley and Pioneer Theater Company of Salt Lake City. It continues through the end of April 2023. Interviews with the five main characters and the playwright appear below.

MHC