Directed by Patrizia Acerra
Featuring Rom Barkhordar as Peyman Gilani, Nicole St. Martin as Manon Desjardins, Will Climer as Declan Sheehan, André Teamer as Bruce Laird, and Susaan Jamshidi as Shirin Gilani
Set in a library that straddles the US-Canadian border, this play, inspired by actual events, follows an Iranian family that has been separated by the "Muslim ban." Using the library as a meeting place, and navigating the concerns of the head librarian, a U.S. border patrol officer, and a local teenager, everyone is forced to choose between breaking the law and saving themselves.
An event by the International Voices Project in collaboration with Silk Road Rising and Consulate General of Canada.
Kareem manages to weave transnationalism, anti-nationalism, Quebecois separatism, universalism, and humor within a story that contemplates the sheer absurdity of policing identity. I must say, I love that it’s set in a library, that secular sacred space where redemption and salvation crescendo around stories and images. A Distinct Society invites audiences of all backgrounds to transcend borders and interrogate our fears. Along the way, whatever cultural and political signifiers we ascribe to “America,” “Canada,” “the Middle East,” and “Muslims” morph into whole new ways of reflecting our actual lived experiences. An extraordinary artist has crafted an exquisitely engaging tale.
