“Speak English Only” reads the whiteboard lettering in the Iranian classroom where four advanced students prepare for their Test of English as a Foreign Language examination. The year is 2008.
It’s a setup that can go anywhere – comedic, tragic, introspective, political, moralistic, prognostic.
Playwright Sanaz Toossi, in her 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, English, now getting an elegantly moving production at Alley Theater, chooses to stay close to the heart. This is a personal, not political play. English is about identity, loyalty to roots and what one gains or gives up when trying to communicate in a language not your own.
“Why do we learn language?” asks teacher Marjan (Jamie Rezanour) as the class begins their lessons. For Marjan, who spent nine years living in the U.K., learning a language allows you to both speak your soul and listen to another’s. To learn English, she feels, expands that connection. Besides, she insists, she likes herself better in English.
Her stated reasoning is far loftier than her pupils. Her identity seemingly more malleable.
Goli, the sweet, eager-to-please 18-year-old student (Vaneh Assadourian) is full of young adult awkwardness and a love of Western culture. English makes her feel cool, seen and heard.
Roya (Pantea Ommi) desperately wants to live with her dismissive, assimilated son, now residing in Canada, and to have a relationship with her granddaughter, who speaks nothing but English.
No one is certain why Omid (Nima Rakhshanifar) is there. His English prowess often dwarfs his teacher’s abilities. Still, he insists, his accent is terrible and he has much to learn.
The problem student is medical undergrad Elham (Shadee Vossoughi) who needs to pass the test to continue her studies in Australia. Prickly and competitive, she finds the language barrier intellectually frustrating and is incensed at having to give up her Iranian identity to succeed.
We learn all of this as we watch the teacher and students (an impeccable cast) play various language learning games. Show and tell, role playing, ball-tossing word play, accent-flattening sessions. Toossi smartly keeps these scenes short and inequitable. Not every character gets to play out every exercise and this both keeps things at a compelling clip and sustains our curiosity. We don’t know too much about any character too soon.
What we do get is the (almost) entire play in English, whether the characters are speaking their native tongue, Farsi, or trying to master the new language. The difference Toossi allows is that English lines are spoken with an accent of various strengths depending on the character’s proficiency, while Farsi unfolds like notes on a page – effortless, meaningful, and melodic. The code switch between the two is a brilliant differential that effectively highlights the technical and thematic communication challenge, while giving us access to all that is spoken.
Tonally, Toossi shows a lot of love for the puddles she wishes to splash in. Her script is funny, silly, touching, tense, sad and provocative in equal measure. Nothing is low-hanging fruit here. No well-trod language jokes. No obvious story arc. No overwrought angst. Laughs are earned, emotions genuine, insights noodled.
But as always, nothing on the page works without a director to bring it to life and Evren Odcikin’s guidance shows great admiration for the work and affection for each of his characters. Most importantly, his sly swings from laughter, heartbreak, anger and back to knowing smiles creep up on us, gentle with the journey and all the more impactful for the buoyant ride.
The final moments of the play are spoken in Farsi, no translation provided. I beg audiences to abandon trying to understand what’s said. Instead, listen to the cadence. The ease and warmth with which the characters speak. How it sounds like home. Real. An exhale after all the stress. If you get that, you’ll get everything Toossi is trying to tell you about language, identity and the words in your heart.
English runs through March 8 at Alley Theatre, 615 Texas. For more information, call 713-220-5700 or visit alleyheatre.org. $45-$93.