English At Long Wharf Theatre
English, the first play by Sanaz Toosi, comes to New Haven with impeccable credentials – a Pulitzer Prize in 2023 following its Off-Broadway debut in 2022 and then a Broadway remount in 2025.
Even though English is now getting a solid production at Long Wharf’s latest borrowed space at Southern Connecticut State University’s (SCSU) Kendal Drama Lab it strikes me as surprisingly thin – a decent first effort by a novice playwright that needs more work to flesh out its promise.
Toosi takes us to Karaj, a suburb of Tehran, where four adult students are taking a class for “advanced speakers” of English. The goal is to prepare them for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), a prerequisite for things like university acceptance and an American Green Card. To that end the instructor, Marjan (Neagheen Homaifar) has instituted a strict “English Only” rule.
Elham (Sahar Milani), a brash young woman, seems most in need of the course. Her admission to a medical school in Australia hinges on her passing the test. Yet she struggles with the language which she professes to hate.
Roya (Nina Ameri) is a grandmother who already has permanent resident status in Canada. But her son is intent on bringing up his son as a Canadian and does not want him exposed to a grandmother who speaks only Farsi.
Goli (Aryana Asefirad) is a perky 18-year-old who seems to want to learn English to better enjoy the Western music she enjoys so much.
Omid (Afsheen Misaghi), the only man in the group, wants a Green Card, or so he says.
For her part, Marjan has returned to Iran after spending nineteen years in Manchester, England. She keeps up her English proficiency by sharing favorite rom-coms with her students, but she is showing signs of slipping.
In a series of short scenes (the entire play runs just an hour and forty minutes) we begin to learn a bit more about these people and discover some of their secrets while learning nothing of others.
Why, for example, did Marjan return from Manchester? Why doesn’t Roya simply go to Canada, despite her apparently heartless son? And why is Omid taking the course? Why was he even admitted, considering the fact that he holds an American passport having been born there before his parents returned to Iran?
There are touches of drama. Roya’s voice mail messages to her son (who never answers her calls) are both amusing and heartbreaking. But Roya abruptly leaves the class so there is no resolution.
Is Marjan sweet on Omid, as Elham insists, or is it Omid who is flirting with teacher? Hard to say. Again there is no resolution.
Other than mentions of visa difficulties, which seemed to be the result of bureaucracy not politics, there is no mention of the increasingly strict theocratic regime outside. One might think the mullahs looked suspiciously on those learning the language of the “Great Satan”.
Toosi seems less interested in exploring the inner lives of her characters than in raising vaguely philosophical questions about language acquisition and what that means for one’s sense of self. Who is the “real” you? Is the accented person somehow inferior to the person speaking their mother tongue?
I found this all rather twee and about as profound as the Firesign Theatre album title, “How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You’re Not Anywhere At All?”
English is getting a solid production under the efficient direction of Arya Shahi. The cast is exemplary, with Homaifar and Asefirad standouts. The simple set by Sadra Tehrani works very nicely in the Drama Lab’s small space and Mary Ellen Stebbins has contributed some nice lighting flourishes. Best of all is the interstitial music of Bahar Royaee’s sound design.
For me, however, Toosi’s fuzzy ideas about what she wanted to say in English lost something in the translation to the stage.
English continues at the Kendall Drama Lab through February 1, 2026. For more information and to purchase tickets visit the Long Wharf Theatre website.
Footnote: Now that Long Wharf has moved its administrative offices to the SCSU campus, why not forge a more permanent relationship? Long Wharf could become the professional adjunct to the university’s drama program offering undergraduates a chance to perform alongside professional actors and earn credit toward their Equity card. Casting undergraduates in minor roles would also save Long Wharf money and allow for larger productions. SCSU does not have a graduate theatre school – yet! – but it’s something to consider.
For a complete index of reviews CLICK HERE.
Don’t miss another review or blog post! SUBSCRIBE HERE
