alphabetical author index

English

  • Sanaz Toossi
  • Full Length Play, Dramatic Comedy, New Millennium/21st Century
  • 1M, 4F
  • ISBN: 9780573709883

Two words set in motion award-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi’s intricate, hilarious and profound New York debut: “English Only.” This is the mantra that rules one classroom in Iran, where four adult students prepare for the TOEFL — the Test of English as a Foreign Language.

  • Full Length Play
  • Dramatic Comedy
  • 105 minutes

  • Time Period: New Millennium/21st Century
  • Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult
  • Set Requirements: Interior Set
  • Cautions: Strong Language, Smoking

  • Performance Group:
  • College Theatre / Student, Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups, Professional Theatre

  • Accolades:
  • Winner! Pulitzer Prize in Drama (2023)
    Winner! Obie Award for Best New American Play (2023)
    Nominee! Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play (2022)
It's 2008, and four Iranians assemble triweekly in a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) class in Karaj, Iran. The students are led by Marjan, an anglophile who abolishes Farsi from her classroom. They translate Ricky Martin and endure major preposition confusion; they discover how to be funny in English and ponder what they will lose in the process. As the class slowly devolves into a linguistic mess, some students cling tighter to their mother tongue while others embrace the possibilities of a new language.

REVIEWS:

"A rich new play... both contemplative and comic, it nails every opportunity for big laughs as its English-learning characters struggle with accents and idioms. But the laughter provides cover for the deeper idea that their struggle is not just linguistic."

 Jesse Green, The New York Times

"A stunning play about hope, belonging and desire... English is both a buoyant comedy of communication and a subtle but probing exploration of what it means to speak out loud and feel understood. That one play can accomplish as much with wit, ease, precision, and heart, as English does in a swift 115 minutes, makes it among the best new plays of the season."

 Naveen Kumar, New York Theatre Guide

"There’s no shortage of easy comedy to be wrung from the conceit of foreigners who talk ‘funny’... But, while Toossi’s play frequently delights in the infelicities of imperfect speech, it’s never cruel."

 Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker

"One of the best plays in New York right now! Exquisitely written, performed, and directed. Those plays that appear, shimmer, and conquer an audience so wholly you feel a delicious, building two-way crackle in the room as a performance progresses. English is one such gem. This critic’s advice is pretty simple. Book a ticket!"

 Tim Teeman, The Daily Beast

"An outstanding play. A masterfully executed look at the impossibility of translating humanity through imperfect means."

 Juan A. Ramirez, Theatrely

"Fascinating and completely satisfying. Toossi’s implications would be admirable at any time, but it is unquestionably relevant to 2022."

 David Finkle, New York Stage Review

Premiere Production: English premiered off-Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater on February 5, 2022. Directed by Knud Adams, the production featured Tala Ashe, Ava Lalezarzadeh, Pooya Mohseni, Marjan Neshat and Hadi Tabbal.
  • Casting: 1M, 4F

  • MARJAN – the teacher; 44; light accent; was taught American English
    ELHAM – a student; 28; very thick accent; bulldozes through English
    ROYA – a student; 54; thick accent
    OMID – a student; 29; barely detectable accent
    GOLI – a student; 18; light, sweet accent
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    It's 2008, and four Iranians assemble triweekly in a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) class in Karaj, Iran. The students are led by Marjan, an anglophile who abolishes Farsi from her classroom. They translate Ricky Martin and endure major preposition confusion; they discover how to be funny in English and ponder what they will lose in the process. As the class slowly devolves into a linguistic mess, some students cling tighter to their mother tongue while others embrace the possibilities of a new language.

    $24.95