Kareem Fahmy’s A DISTINCT SOCIETY to Have Industry Reading at Open Jar Studios

The Workshop Theater, in partnership with Weston Theater Company, is hosting an exclusive New York City reading of Kareem Fahmy’s A DISTINCT SOCIETY at 3:00 PM on July 16 at Open Jar Studios, offering audiences, including industry guests and Weston supporters, an early glimpse of this poignant new play ahead of its Northeast premiere in Vermont this August.

Set in the unique Haskell Free Library—a real-life building that straddles the US-Canada border between Vermont and Quebec—A DISTINCT SOCIETY follows an Iranian father and daughter who use the library’s peculiar geography to visit each other across international lines. As their story unfolds, the quiet lives of the library’s patrons and staff are stirred, revealing the many ways that family, love, art, and politics can both divide and unite us.

“In a time when we’re all searching for deeper connections and meaning, this play resonates profoundly,” says Susanna Gellert, Weston’s Executive Artistic Director. “Its gentle humor and humanity remind us of the power of theater to bridge divides—geographic, cultural, and emotional.”

The reading is directed by the Playwright and features a stellar cast including Barzin Akhavan, Jason Bowen, Daniel Clark, Nikki Massoud, and Polly Lee.

Director and Playwright Kareem Fahmy says: “I was born and raised just on the other side of the Vermont border in southern Quebec, and I wrote this story to celebrate the beautiful and historic relationship between the U.S. and Canada, symbolized by the Haskell Free Library and Opera House. To share the play, and its heartfelt tale of connection, with Vermont audiences feels so vital right now when there is so much strife and division in the world.”

A DISTINCT SOCIETY will run at Weston Theater Company from August 20 - 31, 2025 as part of its 89th theatrical season and New Works programming, which is grounded in the belief that the voice of the author is central to shaping our cultural conversation, locally, nationally, and internationally. This production also underscores Weston’s commitment to becoming Vermont’s premier destination for thought-provoking, entertaining theater—deeply rooted in place, yet resonant far beyond.