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| TheatreWorks production photo by Michaela Vatcheva |
We rarely venture down to Silicon Valley for plays, but now and then something comes to TheatreWorks that makes us think it's worth the trek. Friends wanted to see this play, so we joined them on a midweek evening. It's the world premiere of a play that's been developed through TheatreWorks' new play program, A Distinct Society by Kareem Fahmy.
I will note that TheatreWorks uses two different stages for their shows, and it's sometimes confusing to figure out which one you should go to. As a result, we had dinner in Palo Alto, then had to run to Mountain View to see the show. Partly our fault, but TheatreWorks could make it clearer on their website, particularly the mobile version.
Anyway...
The Play
Straddling a border is a traditional dramatic trope, and this is no exception. The Haskell Free Library and Opera House is a real place, with it's front door in Vermont but part of the building extending across the meandering U.S.-Canada border into Quebec. Thus we have the set-up for a play about borders and immigration, inspired by the Trump administration's "Muslim ban" that prohibited citizens of certain specified nations (notably Iran) from entering the U.S. for a time.
So we have a remote, quiet, American library run by a Quebecois librarian that sits cheek-by-jowl next to a U.S. Border Patrol office. One of the border patrol officers, Bruce, visits the library frequently. Partly because he is bored, and partly because he has a crush on Manon, the librarian. Meanwhile, Internet rumors indicate that prohibited citizens can take advantage of the "no man's land" aspect of the library to clandestinely meet with relatives in the U.S. Such would be the plan for an Iranian doctor, Peyman, and his U.S.-based medical student daughter, Shirin.
The fifth character in the play is Declan, an Irish teenager whose parents brought him to Quebec, where he utterly fails to fit into Quebecois society. So he spends a lot of time in the Haskell Library, reading graphic novels, particularly about the Green Lantern.
Things heat up as Bruce has to crack down on the informal meetings, per U.S. law, while everyone tries to negotiate a path that will work for all the parties. Conflict ensues.
The Production
TheatreWorks must have a pretty big budget, as their sets (at least in the Montain View theater) are always impressive. Here the Haskell Library (complete with a "border line" down the middle of the floor) is impressively rendered. Nice design by Jo Winiarski there--it definitely says "library" without having too many shelves of books interfering with the flow. The casting is strong, with local stalwart Carrie Paff as Manon and suddenly-everywhere Kenny Scott as Bruce. Scott is getting stronger with each show I see him in lately, giving broader, deeper portrayals. There's a lot going on in Bruce's world, and we see how that's affecting him.
The real breakthrough, acting-wise, is Daniel Allitt as Declan, making his professional acting debut. Although a recent college graduate, he was utterly convincing as a nerdy, bullied, rebellious teen. I look forward to seeing more of this newcomer!
The Bottom Line
There's a lot to like here, but the topic doesn't seem very timely at the moment. It's been over six years since the Trump ban went into effect, and the debates over border control seem to have moved on. Still, there are relevant issues about borders. cultures, and such. Ultimately, I think the play is trying to do too much. The parallels between the U.S. Muslim ban and Quebecois separatists are interesting (and the source of the play's title), but when we then add the personal stories of all five characters and the background information on the Haskell library, it becomes a bit much for a play that's currently less than 100 minutes.
I suspect future iterations of the play will do well either to edit some of the material down, or perhaps expand on the content so it's more fully fleshed out. That would make for a more satisfying play overall. Still, for a new play, this wasn't bad.
The run ended April 30, so if you want to see this, it will have to be a different production. This one was pretty good, all things considered.
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