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English
Winner! 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Drama Winner! 2023 Obie Award for Best New American Play
It's 2008, and four Iranians assemble triweekly in a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) class in Karaj, Iran. The students are led by Marjan, an anglophile who abolishes Farsi from her classroom. They translate Ricky Martin and endure major preposition confusion; they discover how to be funny in English and ponder what they will lose in the process. As the class slowly devolves into a linguistic mess, some students cling tighter to their mother tongue while others embrace the possibilities of a new language.
It's 2008, and four Iranians assemble triweekly in a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) class in Karaj, Iran. The students are led by Marjan, an anglophile who abolishes Farsi from her classroom. They translate Ricky Martin and endure major preposition confusion; they discover how to be funny in English and ponder what they will lose in the process. As the class slowly devolves into a linguistic mess, some students cling tighter to their mother tongue while others embrace the possibilities of a new language.
84 pages, Paperback
Published July 28, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
June 12, 2025
"when you speak a language - a language that's not yours it's - My god, you just feel so loud all the time. Like all the worst parts of your voice are being filtered through a microphone."
Iba a escribir esta reseña en inglés pero es una obra que habla de cómo el lenguaje y el anglocentrismo nos afecta a todos. Y pues no sé, creo que tiene más sentido escribir en español. Debería leer más obras !! Amo el teatro !! Amé esta.
Me hizo reflexionar mucho sobre mi propia relación con el lenguage y el inglés. Gran parte de mi vida la dediqué a aprender inglés a la perfección. Desde los 8 años empecé a ver series en inglés, escuchar música en inglés, leer libros en inglés. Pasaba horas imitando a las actrices que veía en Disney, emualndo sus acentos, borrando el mío. Me aseguré de que cuando hablara inglés la gente no pudiera notar de que no era mi primer idioma, porque desesperadamente quería separarme del español.
Vivimos en un mundo donde hablar inglés es visto como una llave que te abre puertas en el mundo. Eso fue lo que mis papás me dijeron una y otra vez. Y me molesta que es cierto, que por eso estoy en otro país, trabajando. Sin el inglés no lo hubiera podido hacer y reconocerlo me molesta. Me molesta que a veces en mi cabeza pienso en inglés, que escribo más en inglés que en español, que leo más en inglés que en español.
¿Verdaderamente puedes apropiarte de un lenguaje que no sea tu lengua materna? Desde que me mudé a otro país lo he platicado con muchas personas y no sé cuál es la respuesta. En inglés no soy igual de chistosa, o de ingeniosa. En inglés no soy Ana Pau, soy Ana. A pesar de tantos años de intentar borrar mi acento, me canso y se me sale. ¿Pero qué tiene de malo? ¿No es solo un recordatorio de que sé otro idioma aparte del mío?
Sé que nadie va a leer esta reseña tan larga de una obra tan chiquita pero creo que quiera escribir tanto solo demuestra que en verdad es buena. Leanla !! Lean teatro !!
Iba a escribir esta reseña en inglés pero es una obra que habla de cómo el lenguaje y el anglocentrismo nos afecta a todos. Y pues no sé, creo que tiene más sentido escribir en español. Debería leer más obras !! Amo el teatro !! Amé esta.
Me hizo reflexionar mucho sobre mi propia relación con el lenguage y el inglés. Gran parte de mi vida la dediqué a aprender inglés a la perfección. Desde los 8 años empecé a ver series en inglés, escuchar música en inglés, leer libros en inglés. Pasaba horas imitando a las actrices que veía en Disney, emualndo sus acentos, borrando el mío. Me aseguré de que cuando hablara inglés la gente no pudiera notar de que no era mi primer idioma, porque desesperadamente quería separarme del español.
Vivimos en un mundo donde hablar inglés es visto como una llave que te abre puertas en el mundo. Eso fue lo que mis papás me dijeron una y otra vez. Y me molesta que es cierto, que por eso estoy en otro país, trabajando. Sin el inglés no lo hubiera podido hacer y reconocerlo me molesta. Me molesta que a veces en mi cabeza pienso en inglés, que escribo más en inglés que en español, que leo más en inglés que en español.
¿Verdaderamente puedes apropiarte de un lenguaje que no sea tu lengua materna? Desde que me mudé a otro país lo he platicado con muchas personas y no sé cuál es la respuesta. En inglés no soy igual de chistosa, o de ingeniosa. En inglés no soy Ana Pau, soy Ana. A pesar de tantos años de intentar borrar mi acento, me canso y se me sale. ¿Pero qué tiene de malo? ¿No es solo un recordatorio de que sé otro idioma aparte del mío?
Sé que nadie va a leer esta reseña tan larga de una obra tan chiquita pero creo que quiera escribir tanto solo demuestra que en verdad es buena. Leanla !! Lean teatro !!
April 19, 2024
"English" is a very simple yet effective play using the example of Iranian students preparing themselves for the TOEFL test in English to show how language acquisition and identity can influence each other. Can you really leave your Iranian self behind in the classroom? Is it really ok to rename yourself in another language? Is full immersion and no accent whatsoever really the goal? A smart and short play which I am excited to see on stage in Stratford this year.
December 9, 2024
This won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for 2022, which I find rather surprising, as the mandate for the award is that it primarily says something about the American experience - and this play is about a preparatory class in English for those taking the TOEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language) in Iran.
One of the conceits of the play is that when the characters are speaking in their native Farsi, they speak WITHOUT any accent, but when speaking English, they do so with varying degrees of one (this is designated in the script by regular and bold fonts respectively) - which I think would be rather confusing for an audience witnessing it being performed. Only at the very end, does this not hold true, when suddenly there is a brief exchange in actual Farsi.
Much like Toossi's other play I've read (Wish You Were Here, I felt some distance between me and the text; it was interesting, but difficult to relate to personally.
One of the conceits of the play is that when the characters are speaking in their native Farsi, they speak WITHOUT any accent, but when speaking English, they do so with varying degrees of one (this is designated in the script by regular and bold fonts respectively) - which I think would be rather confusing for an audience witnessing it being performed. Only at the very end, does this not hold true, when suddenly there is a brief exchange in actual Farsi.
Much like Toossi's other play I've read (Wish You Were Here, I felt some distance between me and the text; it was interesting, but difficult to relate to personally.
March 1, 2025
I've been thinking about this play since I saw it and reading it really helped me slow down and process the plot and characters. They're ingeniously crafted and the play leaves you with more questions than answers.
February 9, 2024
“My English is - you can hear the gap between not from here, not from there.
I think I live there : in that gap.”
wow.
I think I live there : in that gap.”
wow.
December 27, 2024
تقریبا بینظیر بود.
هم نمایشنامه و هم اجراش، از این جهت که همونقدری که مدنظر و موردعلاقهی منه بدون ژانگولر و اداهای دراماتیکن و تمرکز انگار فقط روی معناسازیه، نه دراماتیکبازی. خیلی ساده، با کمترین نیاز به دکور و گریم و اکت و هرچی، صرفا چندتا کاراکتر که حرف میزنن.
و خب موضوعش هم از اون چیزهاست که ما رو درگیر میکنه و تجربهی زیستهی اکثرمونه، هرکدوممون خودمون رو تو یکی از کاراکترها دستکم پیدا میکنیم، و در عین حال برای خارجیها جدید و جالب و ناشناخته و وااای میشه به اینها هم فکر کرد ه و درنتیجه پولیتزر میدن بهش. حین خوندنش همهش به این فکر میکردم، که تکتک این چیزها واسه من چه معنایی داره و بعد واسه خارجیای که خواسته اثر پولیتزرگرفتهی امسال رو بخونه چه معانیای.
صرف تم مهاجرتی و درگیری با اینجا و اونجا، خونه و خونهی دوم، رفتن و موندن و برگشتن و تعلق داشتن و نداشتن و نسل اول مهاجرین و نسل دوم مهاجرین و پشیمون بودن از رفتن و نبودن از برگشتن و «ما نسلی بودیم که برمیگشتیم» و اینهاش هم به اندازهی کافی محور موضوعی موردعلاقهای بود برای من که جذبم کنه، ولی اینکه برای همهی اینها دست گذاشته بود روی مسئلهی زبان به یک درجهی جدیدی میبردش برام اصلا. که اون چیزیه که هر بار و تو هر فرمت و به هر شکلی روش دست میذارن به نظرم به اندازهی دفعهی اول جدید و جذابه و همیشه جای حرف زدن داره، از Funny in Farsi فیروزه جزایری دوما تا بالاخره یه روزی قشنگ حرف میزنم سداریس تا اون کتاب آموختن زبان ایتالیایی جومپا لاهیری تا این و تا هر اثر دیگهای. تجربهای که ما از زبانهای مختلف داریم، هویتهایی که توی زبانهای مختلف برساخته میشه ازمون برای خودمون و بقیه، اینکه خودمون رو توی زبانهای دیگه دوست داریم یا نه اصلا، اینکه به خود حقیقیای قائلیم که تو یه زبان فقط وجود داره یا نه، هزاران تا «اینکه»ی دیگه چیزهایین که هیچوقت کم نمیشه جالب بودن حرف زدن دربارهشون برای من.
پ.ن: من اول اجرا رو دیدم بعد متن رو خوندم، و شاید اولین باریه که راضیم از این مسیر برعکس. بنظرم اون بخشهای فارسی فقط وقتی اونطوری که باید معنا پیدا میکنن که به فارسی نوشته و خونده و شنیده بشن، یا دستکم به فینگلیش، نه به انگلیسی. و حتی تصورشم هم برام سخته که نمایشنامهای دربارهی نسبت آدمها با زبانهای فارسی و انگلیسی تماما به انگلیسی اجرا میشه در خارج از ایران.
هم نمایشنامه و هم اجراش، از این جهت که همونقدری که مدنظر و موردعلاقهی منه بدون ژانگولر و اداهای دراماتیکن و تمرکز انگار فقط روی معناسازیه، نه دراماتیکبازی. خیلی ساده، با کمترین نیاز به دکور و گریم و اکت و هرچی، صرفا چندتا کاراکتر که حرف میزنن.
و خب موضوعش هم از اون چیزهاست که ما رو درگیر میکنه و تجربهی زیستهی اکثرمونه، هرکدوممون خودمون رو تو یکی از کاراکترها دستکم پیدا میکنیم، و در عین حال برای خارجیها جدید و جالب و ناشناخته و وااای میشه به اینها هم فکر کرد ه و درنتیجه پولیتزر میدن بهش. حین خوندنش همهش به این فکر میکردم، که تکتک این چیزها واسه من چه معنایی داره و بعد واسه خارجیای که خواسته اثر پولیتزرگرفتهی امسال رو بخونه چه معانیای.
صرف تم مهاجرتی و درگیری با اینجا و اونجا، خونه و خونهی دوم، رفتن و موندن و برگشتن و تعلق داشتن و نداشتن و نسل اول مهاجرین و نسل دوم مهاجرین و پشیمون بودن از رفتن و نبودن از برگشتن و «ما نسلی بودیم که برمیگشتیم» و اینهاش هم به اندازهی کافی محور موضوعی موردعلاقهای بود برای من که جذبم کنه، ولی اینکه برای همهی اینها دست گذاشته بود روی مسئلهی زبان به یک درجهی جدیدی میبردش برام اصلا. که اون چیزیه که هر بار و تو هر فرمت و به هر شکلی روش دست میذارن به نظرم به اندازهی دفعهی اول جدید و جذابه و همیشه جای حرف زدن داره، از Funny in Farsi فیروزه جزایری دوما تا بالاخره یه روزی قشنگ حرف میزنم سداریس تا اون کتاب آموختن زبان ایتالیایی جومپا لاهیری تا این و تا هر اثر دیگهای. تجربهای که ما از زبانهای مختلف داریم، هویتهایی که توی زبانهای مختلف برساخته میشه ازمون برای خودمون و بقیه، اینکه خودمون رو توی زبانهای دیگه دوست داریم یا نه اصلا، اینکه به خود حقیقیای قائلیم که تو یه زبان فقط وجود داره یا نه، هزاران تا «اینکه»ی دیگه چیزهایین که هیچوقت کم نمیشه جالب بودن حرف زدن دربارهشون برای من.
پ.ن: من اول اجرا رو دیدم بعد متن رو خوندم، و شاید اولین باریه که راضیم از این مسیر برعکس. بنظرم اون بخشهای فارسی فقط وقتی اونطوری که باید معنا پیدا میکنن که به فارسی نوشته و خونده و شنیده بشن، یا دستکم به فینگلیش، نه به انگلیسی. و حتی تصورشم هم برام سخته که نمایشنامهای دربارهی نسبت آدمها با زبانهای فارسی و انگلیسی تماما به انگلیسی اجرا میشه در خارج از ایران.
April 14, 2024
jeez this made me emotional
April 3, 2025
This is a short play that asks questions and doesn't spoonfeed you answers. Some of the thoughts presented here about language and identity are profound. A handful of the exchanges sounded just like conversations I heard from students in EFL classrooms—the humor and the frustration are represented well. The most potent lines in the play are those where the force of the students' emotions outstrip their ability to express them. That being said, I found the play as a whole just a little slight, some of the scenes wrapped up before they got off the ground, and two of the five characters weren't established as well as I would have hoped.
I thought the use of typography to signify the lines in English vs Farsi was creative and effective. I'm unsure of how well this play would perform on a stage. The actors are supposed to speak their Farsi lines in unaccented English and their English lines with varying degrees of Iranian accent. I think it would be asking a lot of both the actors and audience.
I thought the use of typography to signify the lines in English vs Farsi was creative and effective. I'm unsure of how well this play would perform on a stage. The actors are supposed to speak their Farsi lines in unaccented English and their English lines with varying degrees of Iranian accent. I think it would be asking a lot of both the actors and audience.
June 15, 2025
this is gloria from modern family saying "Do you even know how smart I am in Spanish?" but in play form. This is a perfect play to me - so funny with such tender and moving moments exploring what we gain and who we lose as we learn a second language, specifically English. I'm so glad I got to see it and even more glad to slowly savor every word with the script.
February 17, 2025
English is a Pulitzer Prize winning drama about a teacher in Iran trying to coach a class of students for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language).
In the script, the bolded words are in English while the non-bolded words are (to be understood as) Farsi. The note in the beginning says that the actors are supposed to read the English parts with a thick Farsi accents and the Farsi parts in non-accented English. This was hard to keep straight as a reader. I wonder how this worked when performed.
The story is simple (5 characters in a classroom) full of heart with drops of humor here and there. Well done.
In the script, the bolded words are in English while the non-bolded words are (to be understood as) Farsi. The note in the beginning says that the actors are supposed to read the English parts with a thick Farsi accents and the Farsi parts in non-accented English. This was hard to keep straight as a reader. I wonder how this worked when performed.
The story is simple (5 characters in a classroom) full of heart with drops of humor here and there. Well done.
November 15, 2024
i am such a fan! i loved the way this explores identity, language, and language ideology
December 16, 2024
i love getting to read scripts at work. especially when i know i’ll get to see them later in the year. i’ve been doing a lot of research on iran for the lobby display for this show, and it’s been really insightful. excited to see this piece
February 17, 2025
I adore innovative playwriting!!!!
October 21, 2025
English takes place in 2008, Karaj, Iran, where four students are taking classes to pass the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). The play explores the struggles of learning another language and how some of the students are unable to welcome the uncomfortableness that comes with it. I enjoyed the reading, but since it’s a play, I think it would’ve hit harder emotionally through that medium.
It reminded me of my own struggles picking up English growing up. I was born in Mexico and spoke Spanish at home, but my mom brought me to America when I was two or three years old. I grew up learning English while taking Speech classes and ESL for a while because I used to mix up words. Even though I’m fluent in English now, I lost most of my Spanish along the way.
Marjan, the teacher, lived in America for nine years before having to return to Iran. She talks about how her English has gotten “worse” as her accent has grown stronger, and how she used to be able to trick native English speakers with her fluency. That really stood out to me.
My favorite quotes:
MARJAN: English isn’t your enemy.
ELHAM: It is feeling like yes.
MARJAN: English is not to be conquered. Embrace it.
You can be all the things you are in Farsi in English, too.
I always liked myself better in English.
ELHAM: Can we move it on? Please?
MARJAN: Sure.
ROYA: I just. Want her to know me.
ELHAM: You’re her grandma.
ROYA: So?
ELHAM: So that little girl will be immediately in love with you.
ROYA: Nader put her on the phone with me the other day.
I can’t even say her name right.
ELHAM: Let me be real with you… Claire is a weird name.
ROYA: I begged them to name her something even remotely Iranian.
ELHAM: Sure. Yeah.
ROYA: But he wants her to be Canadian and I want to be her grandmother.
GOLI: When you say you do not speak English perfect you know it is not a fact.
OMID: I know that’s what you think.
But the only place I speak perfect English is here.
I think I used to speak perfect English—
But now—
My English is—you can hear the gap between not from here, not from there.
I think I live there: in that gap.
But in here, I was from somewhere.
Or I was from nowhere.
While a short read, I’m sure it’s impact will hit strong to those who are learning a new language or are bilingual and the struggles or fears that come with it.
It reminded me of my own struggles picking up English growing up. I was born in Mexico and spoke Spanish at home, but my mom brought me to America when I was two or three years old. I grew up learning English while taking Speech classes and ESL for a while because I used to mix up words. Even though I’m fluent in English now, I lost most of my Spanish along the way.
Marjan, the teacher, lived in America for nine years before having to return to Iran. She talks about how her English has gotten “worse” as her accent has grown stronger, and how she used to be able to trick native English speakers with her fluency. That really stood out to me.
My favorite quotes:
MARJAN: English isn’t your enemy.
ELHAM: It is feeling like yes.
MARJAN: English is not to be conquered. Embrace it.
You can be all the things you are in Farsi in English, too.
I always liked myself better in English.
ELHAM: Can we move it on? Please?
MARJAN: Sure.
ROYA: I just. Want her to know me.
ELHAM: You’re her grandma.
ROYA: So?
ELHAM: So that little girl will be immediately in love with you.
ROYA: Nader put her on the phone with me the other day.
I can’t even say her name right.
ELHAM: Let me be real with you… Claire is a weird name.
ROYA: I begged them to name her something even remotely Iranian.
ELHAM: Sure. Yeah.
ROYA: But he wants her to be Canadian and I want to be her grandmother.
GOLI: When you say you do not speak English perfect you know it is not a fact.
OMID: I know that’s what you think.
But the only place I speak perfect English is here.
I think I used to speak perfect English—
But now—
My English is—you can hear the gap between not from here, not from there.
I think I live there: in that gap.
But in here, I was from somewhere.
Or I was from nowhere.
While a short read, I’m sure it’s impact will hit strong to those who are learning a new language or are bilingual and the struggles or fears that come with it.
October 2, 2025
“‘When you speak another language — a language that’s not yours it’s — my god, you just feel so loud all the time. Like all the worst parts of your voice are being filtered through a microphone. Your head hurts and the days feel longer. You go years without making anymore laugh.’”
actual rating: 4.5/5
absolutely beautiful!! such a simply idea of a group of iranian students studying for the TOEFL exam and just simply existing in one space being humans uhh my favorite kind of play. so many interesting nuanced conversations about language and communication that doesn’t feel like someone is preaching to you. the struggles of learning another language to be able to move up in the world but also not trying to lose your identity with your native language is a very topical conversation that i haven’t really seen explored in this capacity within theatre. i understand how sanaz toossi won the pulitzer for this show because my god the writing is so good but so simply. i loved the delineation of when the characters are speaking with or without an accent and it’s such a simply thing but it’s so powerful for the overall message of the story. definitely need to read more works by toossi and most likely reread this show again.
actual rating: 4.5/5
absolutely beautiful!! such a simply idea of a group of iranian students studying for the TOEFL exam and just simply existing in one space being humans uhh my favorite kind of play. so many interesting nuanced conversations about language and communication that doesn’t feel like someone is preaching to you. the struggles of learning another language to be able to move up in the world but also not trying to lose your identity with your native language is a very topical conversation that i haven’t really seen explored in this capacity within theatre. i understand how sanaz toossi won the pulitzer for this show because my god the writing is so good but so simply. i loved the delineation of when the characters are speaking with or without an accent and it’s such a simply thing but it’s so powerful for the overall message of the story. definitely need to read more works by toossi and most likely reread this show again.
May 7, 2025
I can't rave enough about this play. A deceptively simple play about a TOEFL test prep class in Iran, but in the end you realize there is nothing simple about. Poignantly reminding the audience that language is tied to culture is tied to family, is tied to location is tied to self. At times, funny (in a somewhat uncomfortable, on purpose way), deeply moving and always empathetic, this play is still in the forefront of my mind two years after I saw a production of it, and if you ever get the change to see this piece I highly recommend that you do so!
August 24, 2025
Excellent writing for the common gap situation of language learner! Yet the characters are not rich enough, like Roya, for whom I have been expecting to appear later on to give a resolution. But Pulitzer got its right choice!
February 7, 2026
theres so much to unpack here. I think the two things that will stick with me the most are:
1) how full personalities can be lost when one is forced out of their native language
2) how English can be used as an elitist tool - even outside of English speaking countries
1) how full personalities can be lost when one is forced out of their native language
2) how English can be used as an elitist tool - even outside of English speaking countries
July 7, 2025
poignant and accurate to life! this play navigated the tricky relationship between two languages with ease and presented realistic and flawed characters who each expressed their discomfort with their situations in unique and human ways. i felt that i could see my own family and their experiences reflected in this book in such a special way 💕
August 20, 2025
4/5 ⭐️
“When you speak another language - a language that’s not yours it’s - My god, you just feel so loud all the time.”
———
“Okay I know what I sound like. I hear my voice too. But I am hearing myself. I hear myself very loud.”
I dreamt in English the other night which I would usually find funny. Good play.
“When you speak another language - a language that’s not yours it’s - My god, you just feel so loud all the time.”
———
“Okay I know what I sound like. I hear my voice too. But I am hearing myself. I hear myself very loud.”
I dreamt in English the other night which I would usually find funny. Good play.
September 3, 2025
this was so moving. despite being so short all of the characters were very real and complicated and lovable. all native english speakers should read this.
May 13, 2024
dare i say...my favorite play of all time??
February 11, 2025
It’s easy to see why this won the Pulitzer! So well written.
May 26, 2025
This is a brilliant study of what it is like to learn a new language and how one's personality is affected by that. This is an unapologetic look at Culture and Identity.
January 27, 2025
In our Animal Farm like country, the United States of America, all languages are created equal, but English is more equaler. English, the play, is a thought provoking look into what English, the language, means to those that have to learn it as a second language. I saw this Pulitzer Prize winning play on Broadway today. The play has a number of really funny moments that helps the medicine go down.
March 9, 2025
A beautiful, quiet yet powerful play!
May 26, 2024
- Do you ever think about who you would be if you never had to think about staying or leaving?
- When you speak another language - a language that's not yours it's...
My god, you just feel so loud all the time. Like all the worst parts of your voice are being filtered through a microphone.
Your head hurts and the days feel longer.
You go years without making anyone laugh.
No one has any idea that you were the top of your class.
Or that you're adventurous or optimistic or that you're kind. Really kind.
You start to forget that you're adventurous and optimistic and kind.
How long can you live in isolation from yourself?
You need to ask yourself that.
But if you can hold on...it's um...
It's everything.
- When you speak another language - a language that's not yours it's...
My god, you just feel so loud all the time. Like all the worst parts of your voice are being filtered through a microphone.
Your head hurts and the days feel longer.
You go years without making anyone laugh.
No one has any idea that you were the top of your class.
Or that you're adventurous or optimistic or that you're kind. Really kind.
You start to forget that you're adventurous and optimistic and kind.
How long can you live in isolation from yourself?
You need to ask yourself that.
But if you can hold on...it's um...
It's everything.
January 19, 2025
I watched the play on Broadway first. 5 stars for that.
It would’ve been harder to visualize certain things had I read this first, but having watched it, I could see it being played out and it is brilliant. Masterful work and exploration of trying to fit in, language as part of our identity and the influence/deification of the West. Sanaz has a very promising voice.
It would’ve been harder to visualize certain things had I read this first, but having watched it, I could see it being played out and it is brilliant. Masterful work and exploration of trying to fit in, language as part of our identity and the influence/deification of the West. Sanaz has a very promising voice.
December 22, 2024
Amazing play. Surprisingly emotional.
March 12, 2025
Great plays know why they are on the stage, not a bookstore shelf or silver screen. “English” by Sanaz Toossi is about five characters in an English classroom in Iran, studying for the Test of English as a Foreign Language. All characters speak two languages, their native Farsi and the English they’re learning. But its central theatrical idea is what makes it click in live performance: when they speak English it is with an Iranian accent, and when they speak Farsi it is performed as unaccented English. It is a deceptively simple idea, one that doesn’t even entirely click on the pages of the script—it breathes and becomes magical through live performance.
Theater, of course, is a medium built around dialogue as an individual and imperfect form of communication, as well as internal and external conflicts. In “English”, communication is conflict: the central concept of Farsi translated to English allows us to understand the difficulty of “bringing the inside to the outside” (6) without the toolbox of your native tongue. In Toossi’s writing, Farsi dialogue is thorough, filled with formality you might find in an essay. When the character Roya says ““I won’t apologize for my displays of affection, however voracious” (36) in Farsi, it contrasts with her dialogue in English, where she often struggles to find the words— “Why you give my granddaughter name I cannot say?” (41.) In a medium where describing what you are feeling is half the job, every character struggles in a language that is not their own.
Behind that struggle, Toossi importantly shows us their intelligence. The best playwrights find beauty in the simplest of words, poets in everyday people. Not all English dialogue spoken in the play is stilted or laden with misnomers - much of it has a beautiful poetry, all the more powerful because these characters literally don’t have the words.
“When I speak English. My ears ring.
But your English. Floats along the water.
One day you will be far away from here.
I wonder who I will speak with then.” (55)
The line breaks and periods in the English sections serve two functions: first, helping an actor understand the amount of thought the character puts into every syllable and the pauses they must take to come up with even the most innocuous words, contrasting with the free-form prose of Farsi dialogue. Sections in English also end up resembling verse poetry – showing the beauty in characters struggling to say something, the power in every word when every word is difficult.
The central theatrical idea of “English” might resonate with audience members differently, but always in a way that promotes understanding. For a bilingual audience member, they will see themselves, the silly mistakes they made while learning a language, the experience of being an outsider in the place where their second language is the primary one spoken - perhaps even the experience of leaving a country you love because a regime makes it impossible to stay longer. For a white theatergoing audience member whose ancestors immigrated long ago, it could make you think about interacting with someone with an international accent – How long did it take for them to learn English? Are they still learning it? What is their native language – what is their story?
Toossi imagined these characters in response to Trump’s travel ban in 2017, coined the “Muslim ban” by him and his administration. Seeing a play like “English” implicitly reminds an audience of what an immigrant goes through to move to another country: what they leave behind not just of their home, but themselves in the process of assimilation. Every character seeks a different English speaking country—England, America, Canada, Australia—but the motivation is the same, to get away from Karaj, Iran in 2008. We’re never told direct reasons why they want to move, leaving it all under the surface and not allowing a western audience to receive the stories about the “Middle East” we’re used to. Toossi knows the impression the west has of Iran; she doesn’t need to explain why the four women of the play want to move away, and why the man who desires to stay has an easier time making that choice. We don’t beg for those narratives because they exist as subtext, allowing for further understanding without over explanation.
The five characters in “English” reflect a different aspect of learning a second language, to paint a full portrait of why people learn English and how learning a second language can change them. Toossi, smartly, doesn’t look to define a lesson or answer every question: she wants to ask us questions that we must discuss and answer, and she does this through five different and diverging character arcs.
At the beginning and end of the play, let’s say each of the five characters was asked to agree or disagree with a thematic statement. “English” is a play about how learning a new language represents learning a new culture, and whether or not you can assimilate to said culture. With that in mind, the statement I’ve imagined is “I can assimilate to English.” Here’s where each character would fall on a Likert scale.
I can Assimilate to English (beginning)
Strongly Disagree: Elham
Disagree: Roya
Unsure: Goli
Agree: Omid
Strongly Agree: Marjan
Marjan strongly agrees because she is the English teacher of the six-week advanced English class studying for the TOEFL. Her classroom is English only – not just for learning purposes, but because Marjan wants to embody the “English-only” persona gained from spending nine years in Manchester living as Mary. She develops a crush on Omid, her student who speaks English better than her, because she sees his potential, both as an English speaker and as a man in a patriarchal society. When that falls apart, when she fails as a teacher, she questions “How long can you live in isolation from yourself?” (71) and ponders her own possibilities. Marjan is firm at the beginning of the play and unsure by the end.
Her crush, Omid, speaks English best because he’s not from Karaj, but Ohio—born to immigrant parents in America. He takes the class because “All [his] life, [he’s] felt like half a thing” (68) - for the first time, he is better than the teacher at English. He is drawn to her enthusiasm for English, her enthusiasm for him. But his excellence is built on a lie, one which reflects his lack of a solid sense of identity. He decides to stay in Karaj, a place where he can feel superior and has opportunity afforded to him as a man - a place where he no longer needs to assimilate.
Omid’s nemesis is Elham, a woman who strongly opposes colonialism, racism, all of which is represented to her in the English language that Omid “perfected.” But she is a gastroenterologist and wants opportunities that will never be provided for her in Karaj. She is an overachiever who, when it comes to the TOEFL, can’t achieve, having failed it five times already. She takes out her frustration on those who can. She wants everyone to know “I am not idiot” (23) - before Marjan corrects her grammar. By the end, however, Elham has passed the TOEFL and is planning to move to Australia. She accepts she must assimilate - but she knows that “When [she] speak[s] English, [she] will always be stranger” (75).
Roya doesn’t want to be a stranger, not to her granddaughter Claire who will grow up learning English. She must assimilate for her sake, even if she begged for Claire to be named “something even remotely Iranian” (35). She feels left behind by her Canadian son, Nader, who now goes by Nate. He can assimilate—Roya can’t. She leaves the class after playing an “unapologetically Iranian” (45) song and never appears in the play again.
Goli begins the play unsure which name she prefers, her given name or English name. She’s the most in the middle, taking the class for the opportunities it could provide without any real idea of what she wants in particular - other than to be an English speaker. She has dreams: the optimism of a life away from Karaj, the idea of someone who can assimilate to English if she wants to and without reservations for the culture she’s leaving behind, the identity she’s leaving behind. She can assimilate, she knows it! Or at least she’s young enough to believe it.
Every character’s journey, distinct and clear, leaves them in a different spot. Who can we identify with? Every single one. There is no audience cipher to tell us what to believe, only five characters to experience. We start the play with Goli, unsure, and see her become the most idealistic about English. She trades places with Marjan, who we end the play with - just as confused about her identity as Goli was at the beginning. Rather than ending with an answer, we end with a masterful and intentional sense of confusion.
I can Assimilate to English (ending)
Strongly Disagree: Roya
Disagree: Omid
Unsure: Marjan
Agree: Elham
Strongly Agree: Goli
I summarize not to take away the power of the story, merely to point out its economy. Toossi accomplishes more in her 90-105 minute play than many playwrights do with 200. Five characters are thoroughly explored through clashing beliefs, personal and political, and each changed in varied, distinct, and believable ways. By the end, all we are left with as an audience is a difficult question: “Could I assimilate to another language?” Would I be closest to Roya, Omid, Marjan, Elham, or Goli by the end of the play?
It is a question you can only answer for yourself.
Theater, of course, is a medium built around dialogue as an individual and imperfect form of communication, as well as internal and external conflicts. In “English”, communication is conflict: the central concept of Farsi translated to English allows us to understand the difficulty of “bringing the inside to the outside” (6) without the toolbox of your native tongue. In Toossi’s writing, Farsi dialogue is thorough, filled with formality you might find in an essay. When the character Roya says ““I won’t apologize for my displays of affection, however voracious” (36) in Farsi, it contrasts with her dialogue in English, where she often struggles to find the words— “Why you give my granddaughter name I cannot say?” (41.) In a medium where describing what you are feeling is half the job, every character struggles in a language that is not their own.
Behind that struggle, Toossi importantly shows us their intelligence. The best playwrights find beauty in the simplest of words, poets in everyday people. Not all English dialogue spoken in the play is stilted or laden with misnomers - much of it has a beautiful poetry, all the more powerful because these characters literally don’t have the words.
“When I speak English. My ears ring.
But your English. Floats along the water.
One day you will be far away from here.
I wonder who I will speak with then.” (55)
The line breaks and periods in the English sections serve two functions: first, helping an actor understand the amount of thought the character puts into every syllable and the pauses they must take to come up with even the most innocuous words, contrasting with the free-form prose of Farsi dialogue. Sections in English also end up resembling verse poetry – showing the beauty in characters struggling to say something, the power in every word when every word is difficult.
The central theatrical idea of “English” might resonate with audience members differently, but always in a way that promotes understanding. For a bilingual audience member, they will see themselves, the silly mistakes they made while learning a language, the experience of being an outsider in the place where their second language is the primary one spoken - perhaps even the experience of leaving a country you love because a regime makes it impossible to stay longer. For a white theatergoing audience member whose ancestors immigrated long ago, it could make you think about interacting with someone with an international accent – How long did it take for them to learn English? Are they still learning it? What is their native language – what is their story?
Toossi imagined these characters in response to Trump’s travel ban in 2017, coined the “Muslim ban” by him and his administration. Seeing a play like “English” implicitly reminds an audience of what an immigrant goes through to move to another country: what they leave behind not just of their home, but themselves in the process of assimilation. Every character seeks a different English speaking country—England, America, Canada, Australia—but the motivation is the same, to get away from Karaj, Iran in 2008. We’re never told direct reasons why they want to move, leaving it all under the surface and not allowing a western audience to receive the stories about the “Middle East” we’re used to. Toossi knows the impression the west has of Iran; she doesn’t need to explain why the four women of the play want to move away, and why the man who desires to stay has an easier time making that choice. We don’t beg for those narratives because they exist as subtext, allowing for further understanding without over explanation.
The five characters in “English” reflect a different aspect of learning a second language, to paint a full portrait of why people learn English and how learning a second language can change them. Toossi, smartly, doesn’t look to define a lesson or answer every question: she wants to ask us questions that we must discuss and answer, and she does this through five different and diverging character arcs.
At the beginning and end of the play, let’s say each of the five characters was asked to agree or disagree with a thematic statement. “English” is a play about how learning a new language represents learning a new culture, and whether or not you can assimilate to said culture. With that in mind, the statement I’ve imagined is “I can assimilate to English.” Here’s where each character would fall on a Likert scale.
I can Assimilate to English (beginning)
Strongly Disagree: Elham
Disagree: Roya
Unsure: Goli
Agree: Omid
Strongly Agree: Marjan
Marjan strongly agrees because she is the English teacher of the six-week advanced English class studying for the TOEFL. Her classroom is English only – not just for learning purposes, but because Marjan wants to embody the “English-only” persona gained from spending nine years in Manchester living as Mary. She develops a crush on Omid, her student who speaks English better than her, because she sees his potential, both as an English speaker and as a man in a patriarchal society. When that falls apart, when she fails as a teacher, she questions “How long can you live in isolation from yourself?” (71) and ponders her own possibilities. Marjan is firm at the beginning of the play and unsure by the end.
Her crush, Omid, speaks English best because he’s not from Karaj, but Ohio—born to immigrant parents in America. He takes the class because “All [his] life, [he’s] felt like half a thing” (68) - for the first time, he is better than the teacher at English. He is drawn to her enthusiasm for English, her enthusiasm for him. But his excellence is built on a lie, one which reflects his lack of a solid sense of identity. He decides to stay in Karaj, a place where he can feel superior and has opportunity afforded to him as a man - a place where he no longer needs to assimilate.
Omid’s nemesis is Elham, a woman who strongly opposes colonialism, racism, all of which is represented to her in the English language that Omid “perfected.” But she is a gastroenterologist and wants opportunities that will never be provided for her in Karaj. She is an overachiever who, when it comes to the TOEFL, can’t achieve, having failed it five times already. She takes out her frustration on those who can. She wants everyone to know “I am not idiot” (23) - before Marjan corrects her grammar. By the end, however, Elham has passed the TOEFL and is planning to move to Australia. She accepts she must assimilate - but she knows that “When [she] speak[s] English, [she] will always be stranger” (75).
Roya doesn’t want to be a stranger, not to her granddaughter Claire who will grow up learning English. She must assimilate for her sake, even if she begged for Claire to be named “something even remotely Iranian” (35). She feels left behind by her Canadian son, Nader, who now goes by Nate. He can assimilate—Roya can’t. She leaves the class after playing an “unapologetically Iranian” (45) song and never appears in the play again.
Goli begins the play unsure which name she prefers, her given name or English name. She’s the most in the middle, taking the class for the opportunities it could provide without any real idea of what she wants in particular - other than to be an English speaker. She has dreams: the optimism of a life away from Karaj, the idea of someone who can assimilate to English if she wants to and without reservations for the culture she’s leaving behind, the identity she’s leaving behind. She can assimilate, she knows it! Or at least she’s young enough to believe it.
Every character’s journey, distinct and clear, leaves them in a different spot. Who can we identify with? Every single one. There is no audience cipher to tell us what to believe, only five characters to experience. We start the play with Goli, unsure, and see her become the most idealistic about English. She trades places with Marjan, who we end the play with - just as confused about her identity as Goli was at the beginning. Rather than ending with an answer, we end with a masterful and intentional sense of confusion.
I can Assimilate to English (ending)
Strongly Disagree: Roya
Disagree: Omid
Unsure: Marjan
Agree: Elham
Strongly Agree: Goli
I summarize not to take away the power of the story, merely to point out its economy. Toossi accomplishes more in her 90-105 minute play than many playwrights do with 200. Five characters are thoroughly explored through clashing beliefs, personal and political, and each changed in varied, distinct, and believable ways. By the end, all we are left with as an audience is a difficult question: “Could I assimilate to another language?” Would I be closest to Roya, Omid, Marjan, Elham, or Goli by the end of the play?
It is a question you can only answer for yourself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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