Archives: Plays

Title: Rights of Passage

Author: Clare Summerskill

Year: 2016

Geography: Europe > Northern Europe > United Kingdom

Synopsis: This piece of verbatim theatre uses stories from LGBTQ+ migrants looking to seek asylum in the United Kingdom due to persecution in their home countries. To be able to claim asylum in the UK based on sexual orientation, asylum seekers must be able to “prove” their orientation to immigration officials. The proof that the immigration officers look for is often based on stereotypes — one asylum seeker is quizzed on the operating hours of a local gay club, and his ability to avoid deportation may hinge on it.

Publication: Summerskill, Clare. Rights of Passage. Machynlleth, Wales, Tollington, 2016.
Title: Sonar Bangla

Author: Asif Currimbhoy

Year: 1972

Geography: Asia > Southern Asia > India

Synopsis: Sonar Bangla, the third play in Currimbhoy’s “Bengal Trilogy”, takes place in the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 and looks at the resulting refugee crisis surrounding the emerging of the nation of Bangladesh. Mujib, recently released from nine months of solitary confinement, witnesses the destruction following the Bangladesh genocide. Hussain worries about the splitting nation’s future.

Publication: Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1972
Title: Deporting the Divas

Author: Guillermo Reyes

Year: 2004

Geography: Americas > Northern America > United States of America

Synopsis: A comedic, magical realism play about Michael, a married, English-speaking, Mexican-American border patrol agent who has an affair with Sedicio, an undocumented Mexican immigrant. The Divas who appear to Michael show him a fantastical life and allow him to step away from his boring, closeted life. Will Sedicio and the Divas force Michael to confront his hypocritical job as a border agent and convince him to stop living a lie?

Publication: Alexander Street Press, 2004
Title: Men on the Verge of a His-Panic Breakdown

Author: Guillermo Reyes

Year: 1998

Geography: Americas > Northern America > United States of America

Synopsis: Frederico, “the Gay Little Immigrant That Could”, moves to Los Angeles on the first day of the 1992 riots and marries a lesbian to get his Green Card. This play is a series of monologues that introduce Frederico, the main character, as well as a number of other immigrants such as La Gitana, a Flamenco dancer drag queen retiring due to his impending death from AIDS; Paco, a Cuban restaurant owner who was imprisoned for being gay; and Edward, a white-passing Latino actor who gets a Latino role and must face his own identity. The “Hispanic breakdown” that all these men suffer from is the conflict of race and gender identity that comes from living as a Latino immigrant in the U.S.

Publication: The Dramatic Publishing Company, 1998
Title: Rowing to America: The Immigrant Project

Author: J. Rufus Caleb, Kitty Chen, Robert Clyman, Keith Glover, Meg Griffith, Sachi Oyama, Guillermo Reyes, Akbil Sharma, Karen Sunde

Year: 1999

Geography: Americas > Northern America > United States of America

Synopsis: Rowing to America is a collection of nine one-act plays that explore immigration and culture. Some plays, such as The Apron, Homeland, or Famous Ali center around immigrants moving to the U.S. and adjusting to life in their new home. Slave Coffee/With Observer tackles the forced relocation of enslaved Africans within the U.S., while Oh Wild West Wind follows Cherokee people being forced from their homelands via the “Trail of Tears”.

Publication: The Dramatic Publishing Company, 1999
Title: The Komagata Maru Incident

Author: Sharon Pollock

Year: 1976

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Synopsis: The Komagata Maru lands in Vancouver Harbour and sets off a months-long disaster when the Indian immigrants onboard — most of which are British subjects with rights of entry to Canada — are not allowed to disembark. The passengers onboard struggle with dwindling supplies, and efforts from those onshore to send food and water to the trapped migrants are blocked. This play follows the chaos on the ship and in the courts as the people on board struggle to get through their ordeal.

Publication: Playwrights Canada Press Toronto, 1976
Title: The 146 Point Flame

Author: Matt Thompson

Year: 2017

Geography: Americas > Northern America > United States of America

Synopsis: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 killed 146 workers. The factory was a sweatshop, which exploited its mostly young, immigrant workforce. This play takes place in an intermediary world where the recently dead can reflect on their lives, dreams, and untimely deaths. Vincenza, an Italian immigrant, thinks back fondly on her last night alive. Lena and Yetta discuss moving from life to the afterlife as a parallel to their migration from Russia to America.

Publication: The Dramatic Publishing Company, 2017
Title: Port of Entry

Author: Albany Park Theater Project & Third Rail Projects

Year: 2023

Geography: Americas > Northern America > United States of America

Synopsis: Port of Entry (2023) is an immersive play, that is focused on the stories in an apartment building in Chicago’s Albany Park community. The audience moves from one story to another, about the lives of the most diverse immigrant and refugee population in the United States, which is situated in the Chicago area. The play takes place in a 1929 Warehouse, that has had a 3-story apartment building replicated in the courtyard of the property. The audience consists of 28 people that travel from one space to another, and the spectators can witness the scenes from perspectives from across the world and from different time periods. The production is a collaboration/ co-creation between the Albany Park Theatre Project (Chicago) and Third Rail Projects (from New York) and was performed in Chicago up until January of 2026 (Source, Port of Entry Website). The production was recognized in the House of Representatives in December of 2024 by Congresswoman Delia Ramirez.

Publication: The show was still in production in Chicago, as of January 2026. The play has yet to be published, as of February 2026.
Title: The Other Americans

Author: John Leguizamo

Year: 2024

Geography: Americas > Northern America > United States of America

Synopsis: The Other Americans (2024) is a new piece created and written by Emmy award winning actor, director, playwright, John Leguizamo and the production feature the writer as the lead character, Nelson Castro. The story follows the laundromat owner, Nelson Castro (he is Columbian/ American), in the Queens neighborhood, and how his family business is falling to pieces due to various issues, including familial secrets. Nelson world starts to unravel when his son Nick returns, after a stint at a mental wellness facility due to a traumatic event in his life. Nelson is pushed to protect his business and his family, and he is forced to navigate racial and identity difficulties, to live out his dreams and goals in life. John Leguizamo’s The Other Americans (2024) is a compelling and absorbing tale of resilience in the twenty first century.

Publication: The production, as of fall 2025, was being performed at the Public Theatre, which is a venue off-Broadway in New York. The play is currently un-published.
Title: Sanctuary City

Author: Martyna Majok

Year: 2025

Geography: Americas > Northern America > United States of America

Synopsis: Sanctuary City (2025) is a new creation by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Martyna Majok, and the story focuses in on two young girls that have both immigrated to Newark, New Jersey as children, and then we see how their world changes post 9/11 and through their hardships and connection, the two characters become each other’s sanctuaries in this new city for them. Through tough times, the two characters’ friendship starts to splinter and becomes fractured as the story progresses. The play focuses in on the DREAMers and the story itself fractures time and travels through memories for the characters.

Publication: Steppenwolf Theatre produced this play in 2023.