A Distinct Society
by Kareem Fahmy

A Distinct Society Book Cover — A Distinct Society Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

90 mins Present Day Multicultural Casting Unit Set/Multiple Settings Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes

Synopsis

Nothing much ever happens in the sleepy Haskell Free Library that straddles the border of Vermont and Quebec.

But when an Iranian father and daughter, separated by the “Muslim ban,” begin using the library as a meeting place, the French-Canadian librarian, an American border patrol agent and a local teenager find their quiet lives suddenly full of excitement and consequence.

Inspired by true events, A Distinct Society is a touching and funny play about the many things – family, food, art, love and politics – that can either divide or unite us.

Press Reviews

"A Distinct Society is a tale of fundamentally decent people faced with an impossible situation and striving somehow to navigate it anyway as best they can, and that’s what makes it so compelling."
— The Mercury News

"Kareem Fahmy brings together five people and weaves a tale that is, at turns, heartwarming, funny, frightening and sad… Fahmy’s adept story-telling brings all of these layers together into a particularly powerful message. His perspective creates a poignant voice needing to be heard…"
— Front Row Reviewers

"Fahmy’s words…are a beautifully balanced equation of the confusion, anger, and raw emotion of bigotry and nationalism"
— Third Coast Review

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Manon Desjardins a French-Canadian woman in her forties. The head librarian at the Haskell Free Library. Speaks with a Québécois accent. She is enigmatic.	female	—	a French-Canadian woman in her forties. The head librarian at the Haskell Free Library. Speaks with a Québécois accent. She is enigmatic.
Declan Sheehan a fifteen-year-old Canadian boy. The child of Northern Irish immigrants to Québec. A high school student. Speaks with the slightest hint of a Canadian accent. He is lonely.	male	—	a fifteen-year-old Canadian boy. The child of Northern Irish immigrants to Québec. A high school student. Speaks with the slightest hint of a Canadian accent. He is lonely.
Bruce Laird a Black man in his mid-to-late thirties. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent. He is charming.	male	—	a Black man in his mid-to-late thirties. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent. He is charming.
Shirin Gilani an Iranian woman in her midtwenties. A medical student and Peyman’s daughter. Her Persian accent is milder than her father’s. She is forthright.	female	—	an Iranian woman in her midtwenties. A medical student and Peyman’s daughter. Her Persian accent is milder than her father’s. She is forthright.
Peyman Gilani an Iranian man in his fifties. A cardiac surgeon. Speaks with a Persian accent. He is grounded.	male	—	an Iranian man in his fifties. A cardiac surgeon. Speaks with a Persian accent. He is grounded.