English, SpeakEasy Stage, Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, through November 19. 617-933-8600 or www.SpeakEasyStage.com
Studying a language is no mere academic challenge. Such learning includes the culture and world view of the tongue in question. That challenge is compounded when the countries of the native and studied languages are as different and even polarized as Iran and the United States. At the same time, the teaching itself can have a profound even life-changing impact on both the instructor and the students. Such is the case for the four Iranian students—three women and one man—and their Iranian female teacher in the provocative prize-winning Off-Broadway play "English"(2022 Lucille Lortel Award)—now in a richly thoughtful SpeakEasy Stage area premiere at the Calderwood Pavilion.
The disarmingly simple title of Iranian-American Sanaz Toossi's no-intermission play has as much to do with identity as with language. On the one hand, teacher Marjan and her three female students all don the traditional Muslim hijab in her 2008 Karaj, Iran classroom (near Teheran. On the other hand, the teacher—preparing all four students for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)—insists straight away that her class speak ''Only English." Sessions regularly include such activities as show and tell, one-on-one conversations, role-playing and circles in which ball tossing is tied to such word groups as items of clothing.
If Marjan is clearly an expert teacher and her sessions seem appropriately varied and interesting, her students reactions are clearly not uniformly positive. Attitude rich Elham—who eventually admits to five unsuccessful TOEFLs—sees English helping her to attend a medical school in Australia but contends that the teacher may be favoring male student Omid (who joins her after hours in the classroom to watch such hit English language films as "Notting Hill." Older student Roya—whose son Nader and his family live in Canada—wants to learn English to speak with her granddaughter Claire but seriously questions the lack of their native Farsi in sessions. Her reservations reach such a boiling point that she boldly presents a Farsi song and ultimately checks out of class. Omid likes the class yet harbors secrets about his actual English level and his life. Goli seems fascinated with English in her own way but actually dreams of an Iran in which Cyrus the Great is still king and everyone speaks Farsi.
Goli's dream may be a clever sub-textual tease. Marjan seems to claim that learning English is not a matter of conquest. Even so, the light accent-bearing teacher—who spent several years in Manchester England—may have been 'conquered' by English. Where Elham speaks of liking her native tongue, Marjan seems clearly conflicted about her preference and by extension her identity as she fears that Farsi is winning her inner war with English. Audience members learning another language or bearing dual citizenship are likely to experience a similar conflict. "English" is unquestionably a singularly insightful play about language, communication and human identity.
Under Melory Mirashrafi's taut direction, a nimble cast captures the play's vivid quintet and the characters' very diverse points of view. Deniz Khateri captures Marjan's evolving feelings about language, teaching and her own complex identity. Zaven Ovian has Omid's charm as well as his elusiveness. Josephine Moshiri Elwood catches both Elham's insecurity about her thick accent and her pride in her heritage. Lily Gilan James is properly enthusiastic as Goli. Leyla Modirzadeh finds Roya's strong spirit and devotion to family. All five actors smoothly move between the faster tempo English cleverly meant to represent Farsi and its slower tempo counterpoint for the English the students are gradually learning. Janie E. Howland's wood-dominated classroom set is strikingly warm. Nina Vartanian smartly reflects the differences between the characters in her nuanced costumes.
Omid admits to liking Marjan in both languages. Theatergoers should embrace SpeakEasy Stage's enchanting premiere of "English" and the food for thought it importantly provides about the worlds of words.