Archives: Plays

Author: Christine Rodriguez

Year: 2022

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Simone struggles to balance her Canadian, Québécois, and Trinidadian identities while navigating friendship pressures. Torn between her best friend Sarah’s dance project and activist Vanessa’s Black History Committee, Simone faces strained loyalties and personal growth. This heartfelt story explores the challenges of self-discovery, cultural belonging, and standing up for one’s beliefs.

Publication: Rodriguez, C. (2022). Simone, Half and Half. Playwrights Canada Press.

Author: Michaela Di Cesare

Year: 2022

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Synopsis: In Successions, two second-generation Italian Canadian brothers must decide the fate of their family home after their parents’ sudden death. As they clash over what to preserve—property or relationships—deep-rooted tensions surface around culture, class, and family legacy. This sharp dramedy explores the complexities of immigrant identity, generational conflict, and what it means to move forward.

Publication: Di Cesare, M. (2022). Successions Playwrights Canada Press.

Author: Nam Nguyen

Year: 2021

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Synopsis: A Perfect Bowl of Pho is a hilarious and poignant meta-musical that follows Nam, a procrastinating Vietnamese Canadian student, as he attempts to write a play about food and diaspora—centering on pho. Blending history, parody, and rap, the show explores identity, colonization, cultural authenticity, and the power of storytelling, all through the lens of one iconic noodle soup.

Publication: Nguyen, N. (2021). A perfect bowl of pho. Playwrights Canada Press.

Author: Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho)

Year: 2019

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Synopsis: Trace follows four generations of a Chinese family from war-torn China to present-day Toronto. Through piano, mahjong, and memory, Jeff Ho brings to life his great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother, exploring migration, identity, and survival. This solo show tenderly unpacks familial duty, personal ambition, and the weight of generational trauma with humour and heart.

Publication: Ho, K. K. (2019). trace. Playwrights Canada Press.

Author: Dennis Foon

Year: 2018

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Synopsis: Nick has just moved to Canada from a country called Homeland, where he is forced to grapple with his fears of a new culture and language as well as cope with classmates who taunt him for being different. After a series of confrontations, Nick, his family, and his peers start to learn how to accept one another and find a comfortable middle ground.

Publication: Foon, D. (2018). New Canadian Kid & Invisible Kids. Playwrights Canada Press.

Author: David Yee

Year: 2017

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Synopsis: Haunted by his past and the pressure of success, writer Sin Hwang arrives in Hong Kong carrying emotional and literal baggage. In this darkly comic and poignant tale, surreal characters guide him through a journey of family, trauma, and spiritual awakening, revealing the generational cycles we must confront to truly move forward.

Publication: Yee, D. (2017). acquiesce. Playwrights Canada Press.

Author: Trey Anthony

Year: 2017

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Synopsis: How Black Mothers Say I Love You explores family tensions when Claudette visits her dying mother in Brooklyn after years of abandonment. Rooted in pain yet full of humor and love, the play delves into immigrant mother-daughter dynamics, generational trauma, and reconciliation. It balances emotional intensity with tenderness, revealing the complexities of love, loss, and forgiveness.

Publication: Anthony, T. (2017). How Black Mothers Say I Love You. Playwrights Canada Press.

Author: Julie Vincent

Year: 2017

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Synopsis: Francisco is haunted by the memory of his best friend’s death during a political uprising in Uruguay—a moment that follows him through decades of exile, success, and decline in Montreal. From a young refugee to a successful architect to a homeless man, Francisco’s life unfolds amid love, loss, and political struggle. As his past blurs with the present, he’s forced to confront his trauma and reclaim his identity. This poignant, hallucinatory journey through memory and migration explores the enduring effects of political violence, displacement, and the intergenerational fight for justice. A moving reflection on exile, identity, and survival.

Publication: Vincent, J. (2017). The doorman of Windsor Station (H. Hazelton, Trans). Playwrights Canada Press.

Author: David Yee

Year: 2010

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Synopsis: Lady in the Red Dress by David Yee is a time-traveling noir exploring the legacy of the Chinese head tax and anti-Asian racism in Canada. Mixing mystery, history, and dark comedy, the play follows Max, a justice lawyer, as he’s drawn into a surreal quest by Sylvia, a vengeful figure. Through ghosts, violence, and reckoning, Max confronts collective responsibility, identity, and buried injustices in this powerful, mythic tale of Chinese Canadian resistance and remembrance.

Publication: Yee, D. (2010). lady in the red dress. Playwrights Canada Press.

Author: Marie Beath Badian

Year: 2017

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Synopsis: The Making of St. Jerome by Marie Beath Badian explores the aftermath of a Filipino Canadian teenager’s fatal police shooting in Toronto. Told from the perspective of Jason, Jerome’s older brother, the play delves into grief, guilt, and racial profiling. It confronts systemic injustice while intimately portraying sibling love and rivalry. Through Jason’s struggle, the play reveals the complex reality behind tragic incidents and challenges audiences to see beyond stereotypes and headlines.

Publication: Badian, M. B. (2017). The making of St. Jerome. Playwrights Canada Press.