Pej Vahdat, Sahar Bibiyan and Roxanna Hopen Radja in “English” at Goodman Theatre. (Photo by Liz Lauren)
Highly recommended
When you cannot adequately express yourself with the nuance and clarity of a native speaker, people do not realize that you are actually smart, funny, and kind. Instead, they only hear your imperfect pronunciation and limited vocabulary. You may be assumed to be inferior with little or nothing to offer.
Whether this is one hundred percent true or not, these are some of the fears that plague four adult students and their teacher studying for an English language proficiency exam in Iran.
Witty, insightful, cleverly written and produced, “English” is a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Sanaz Toossi, directed by Hamid Dehghani and performed brilliantly at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
Roya (Sahar Bibiyan) is a youngish grandmother whose son is living in Canada. He wants her to be able to speak English with her granddaughter before she can rejoin the family.
Elam (Nikki Massoud) is a medical student whose insecurity about how people might perceive her heavy accented speech is stifling her progress.
Goli (Shadee Vossoughi) at eighteen is the youngest in the class, basically taking the whole experience in stride and doing her best to achieve her dream of passing the English exam that might be her ticket to a temporary work permit (green card) in America.
Instructor, Marjan (Roxanna Hope Radja) who had spent nine years living in Manchester, England, fears she is losing her proficiency advantage since returning to Iran. She spends much of her time leading the class through amusing word games while insisting that students speak only in English when in class and not lapse into Farsi when frustrated.
Omid (Pej Vahdat), the only male in the class, is the most proficient speaker. He draws ire from Elam and added attention from Marjan who is happy to have someone to speak with.
Pej Vahdat (Omid), left, and Iranian teacher Roxanna Hope Radja, (Marjan) in Goodman Theatre’s “English” by Sanaz Toossi. (Photo by Liz Lauren)
The set design by Courtney O’Neill immediately supports the voyeuristic experience, with the audience literally providing the third wall of the classroom as though we are peeking through a one-way glass. The window on the back wall provides a tantalizing glimpse of the outside world.
We all likely have some experience with immigrants who have learned English as a second language. Most of us have immense respect for their accomplishment and abilities.
Toosi takes this one step further by bringing us into the inner thinking of the members of this class. The show helps us to not only experience the frustrating process of learning a new language but also asks us to consider that language is not simply a matter of exchanging one word for another because your mother tongue is deeply related to your culture, personal identity and sense of self.
Feeling like you are not fully capable of expressing your deepest thoughts and emotions with utmost clarity is like navigating the world with one hand tied behind your back. Additionally, it may make some people feel as if they are rejecting their culture while others who achieve the elusive goal of total proficiency might feel a euphoric sense of accomplishment and pride at being able to straddle two worlds, indeed two ways of thinking.
Details: “English” is at The Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn, Chicago, IL through June 16, 2024. Runtime is about 1 hour and 45 minutes with no intermission. For tickets and information visit goodmantheatre.org or call the box office (312) 443-3800 (noon to 5 PM).
Reviewer: Reno Lovison is a Chicago video marketing professional and volunteer ESL tutor.
For more shows visit Theatre in Chicago