The Vagrant Trilogy: Three Plays by Mona Mansour: The Hour of Feeling; The Vagrant; Urge for Going

＂The [Vagrant Trilogy] extends far beyond the timeline of devastating events, and instead shows us something greater: humanity.＂ -Broadway World



The Vagrant Trilogyis a set of three plays by award-winning Arab American playwright Mona Mansour which explores the Palestinian condition prior to, during, and after the infamous Six-Day War. It sketches the devastating effect this conflict had on members of the Palestinian diaspora scattered in Europe and in Lebanese refugee camps.

With productions in Washington DC, New York, and Abu Dhabi, this trilogy has moved audiences across both America and the Arabic-speaking world. The Hour of Feeling, The Vagrant, and Urge for Going offer a deep exploration of the Palestinian struggle for home and identity, a powerful glimpse into a reality that many face and few understand.

The volume includes a foreword by director Mark Wing-Davey; an introduction by Arab American theatre scholars Hala Baki and Michael Malek Najjar; the three plays in their final performance versions; an interview with playwright Mona Mansour; and a critical essay by literary scholar Diya Abdo. This collection of Mansour’s outstanding plays is another important contribution to the Arab American theatrical canon and the larger body of American drama.

Mona Mansor’s play The Vagrant Trilogy was set to make its New York City debut in March 2020 at the Public Theater, directed by Mark Wing-Davey; the production was postponed due to Covid-19, and will resume at a future date. It was originally presented at Mosaic Theater in June 2018. Other plays include: We Swim, We Talk, We Go to War (Golden Tread, 2018); The Way West (Labyrinth, Village Theatre, Steppenwolf, Marin Theatre Company); Unseen (Gift Theater); In The Open (Waterwell). Mona was a member of the Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group. Commissions include Playwrights Horizons, La Jolla Playhouse and Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s ＂American Revolutions.＂ 2020 Helen Merrill Award, 2012 Whiting Award. 2014 Middle East America Playwright Award, MacDowell Colony 2018, New Dramatists Class of 2020.