B'way Review: English

The cast of English.
Credit: Joan Marcus

After an award-winning Off-Broadway run at the Atlantic Theater Company including the 2023 Pulitzer Prize, Sanaz Toossi’s English has transferred with the same cast and director to Roundabout Theater Company’s Broadway house, the Todd Haimes. This clever and insightful comedy-drama of an English-as-a-Foreign-Language class in 2008 Iran retains its sharp humor and dramatic builds. The piece is even more relevant today as the immigrant experience and conflicting views of language are coming into focus under the second Trump administration.

The four adults and their teacher each have their individual reasons for wanting to learn English and Toossi uses them to examine how we relate to language and what it says about us. The teacher Marjan (a beautifully complex Marjan Neshat) sees herself differently when she speaks English than in her native Farsi. She is no longer tied to her homeland in English, but she left Manchester, England after living there because she felt out of place. Sharp-edged

Hadi Tabbal and Marjan Neshat in
English.
Credit: Joan Marcus

Elham (a magnificently prickly Tala Ashe) resents having to learn the new language, but reluctantly realizes she needs it for a better future. Equally rough Roya (delightfully sarcastic Pooya Mohseni) only wants to be able to communicate with her granddaughter in Canada and eventually move there to be with her son and daughter-in-law who she fears have become totally Westernized and forgotten their native culture. 

Young Goli (perky and fun Ava Lalezarzadeh) wants to increase her job opportunities but struggles with the intricacies and idioms of the language. Omid (solid Hadi Tabbal), the only male in the class, speaks like a native American and his mixed motives for joining the class are later revealed, including his growing attraction to Marjan, who spends office hours with him watching romantic comedies like Moonstruck and Notting Hill. 

Tala Ashe and Marjan Neshat in
English.
Credit: Joan Marcus

Knud Adams’ direction balances the comic aspects of the script (mixing up phrases and mispronunciations) with the deeply felt connections between the characters. You can feel the tension as the students challenge Marjan over retaining their Iranian names and customs. In another telling scene, a simple game of naming kitchen items becomes a fierce battle for dominance. The cast also expertly indicates transitioning from speaking in English (most with heavy accents) to their native Farsi (speaking more casually and quickly) and back again. The actors convey so much subtextually that at the play’s end when the remaining characters speak the final lines in Farsi, it’s clear what they are saying to each other. Marsha Ginsberg’s revolving cube of a set, along with Reza Behjat’s sensitive lighting, creates enough variety to denote differences in time and underscores the emotions of each scene. English is a class you’ll want to take. 

Jan. 23—March 2. Atlantic Theater Company and Roundabout Theater Company at the Todd Haimes Theater, 227 W. 42nd St., NYC. Running time: one hour and 40 mins. with no intermission. roundabouttheatre.org.