by Tim Leininger

(Photo Credit: Curtis Brown Photography)

            Depending on your source, there are anywhere between 8 and 160 different English dialects in the United States alone, more if you’re Henry Higgins. It has been known for being a challenging language to learn and when you incorporate the difficulty of pronunciation, enunciation, and proper grammar techniques, it can be impossibly exhausting and strenuous for students who are not native speakers to pick up on the nuances. Such is the struggle of the English students in Sanaz Toossi’s 2023 Pulitzer Prize winning drama English, a co-production between TheaterWorks Hartford and Long Wharf Theatre, directed by Arya Shahi, running at TheaterWorks Hartford at 233 Pearl St. in Hartford through Nov. 2. It will then transfer under the banner of Long Wharf Theatre at Southern Connecticut State University’s Kendall Drama Lab from Jan. 16 to Feb. 1, 2026 at 501 Crescent St. in New Haven, Connecticut.

            English was one of my favorite plays of last season, and hindsight being what it is, probably should have beat Purpose for Best Play at the Tony Awards. Centered on a TOEFL, or Test of English as a Foreign Language, class in 2008 Karaj, Iran, Toossi dissects the motivations of four students who are preparing for the TOEFL exam, and the frustrating necessity of having to learn a language you don’t necessarily want to learn but have to for personal reasons. It is one of the best plays I’ve seen that exemplifies the inner conflict of one’s beliefs versus the necessity of doing something you have to do as a means to an end.

(Photo Credit: Curtis Brown Photography)

            The class is taught by Marjan (Neagheen Homaifar), who lived in Manchester, England for nine years before returning to Iran. As this is supposed to be an advanced level class, she requires that only English is spoken in the classroom versus their native Farsi, which becomes a point of contention with several students, especially the strong-willed Elham (Sahar Milani), who has to pass the TOEFL in order to attend a medical school in Australia that has an excellent program in the field that she wants to study, becoming more frustrated with her insecurities with the language. This is compounded by student Omid’s (Afsheen Misaghi) apparent ease of the language, creating additional conflict. He says he’s applying for a Green Card for the United States. Meanwhile, Roya (Pantea Ommi) is desperate to be with her son and his family in Canada but hates that her family is abandoning their Iranian identity for Western/English culture, who have decided to be an English-only speaking household. The last student, the soft-spoken and tender Goli (Anahita Monfared), is the only student who is apparently learning the language for the sake of wanting to expand her view of the world without ulterior motive.

            Being that the play is set in Iran, but the play is presented for an English speaking audience, Toossi has detailed the text of the play to have the actors speak in very specific ways so that the audience knows what language the characters are speaking at any given time without the need of them actually speaking in Farsi and using supertitles — granted, to be honest, I would love to see a production where they do speak Farsi for the Farsi spoken moments. What happens is that, for example, when Elham is speaking English, it is an incomplete version of the language, with a strong dialect and grammatical errors. When she is speaking Farsi, it is presented as perfect American Standard English. It’s a smart, accessible way for the audience to know what language is being spoken at any moment while trusting the audience to figure it out along the way.

(Photo Credit: Curtis Brown Photography)

            The cast has to be on point with the dialects and the quintet do a fantastic job of flipping back and forth between representing the two languages. The comfortability with the accents makes it easier for them to connect to the nuances of the characters and their performances. Milani is particularly excellent as Elham, embodying the frustration of a student who feels like she has nothing left to give, so starts acting out against her teacher and fellow classmates. Ommi’s Roya is full of delicate heartbreak as she tries to make peace with her son. Monfared gives Goli a balance of tender sweetness mixed with insecurity. The relationship between Marjan and Omid is a bit more sexually tenuous in this production than the Broadway production. Though Homaifar and Misaghi never overplay it, there is a reveal later in the play that happens and a reaction to that reveal that could have more impact because of the affection the two exhibit earlier. It’s a single misstep in direction and performance in an otherwise excellent ensemble performance.

            If you happened to have seen the Broadway production, the set design has been simplified by designer Sadra Tehrani. There’s no rotating platform to have outdoor scenes. Instead, more emphasis is placed on lighting, designed by Mary Ellen Stebbins, to indicate when a character is apart from everyone else. For example, Roya is on the phone leaving a message for her son. Instead of being outside the classroom, the lighting dims elsewhere and spotlights on her to give the impression of being alone for the call, even though there are other actors on stage. It works, and it simplifies otherwise complicated design issues.

(Photo Credit: Curtis Brown Photography)

            English is one of the best new plays of the 21^st century and is an excellent examination of how culture and language are intertwined, and how the addition of another can complicate the dynamics of one’s relationship with who they are, what their identity is, and who they will be in the future. I highly encourage everyone to see this excellent play, and if by chance it has sold out at TheaterWorks Hartford on the days you can see it, to make plans now to see it in January when it opens at Long Wharf.

ENGLISH

TICKETS:

TheaterWorks Hartford: https://twhartford.org/

Long Wharf Theatre: https://www.longwharf.org/

PRODUCTION

Written by Sanaz Toossi

Directed by Arya Shahi

Set Design: Sadra Tehrani

Costume Design: Dina El-Aziz

Lighting Design: Mary Ellen Stebbins

Sound Design: Bahar Royaee

Casting Director: Gregory Jafari Van Acker/Bass/Valle Casting

Stage Manager: Tom Kosis

Associate Lighting Design: Nicholas Pollock

CAST

Neagheen Homaifar as Marjan

Sahar Milani as Elham

Afasheen Misaghi as Omid

Anahita Monfared as Goli

Pantea Ommi as Roya