By Adam Rafferty
The winner of last year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama, it doesn’t take long to understand why the Melbourne Theatre Company snapped up English, a very fresh play by Iranian-American playwright, Sanaz Toossi. Set in an adult-learning English language classroom, in Karaj, Iran, the story is simultaneously particular to the experience of native Farsi speakers, while also familiar to anyone who has tried to learn a second language.
The small class of four is instructed by Marjan (Salme Geransar), an educator who has returned to Iran after nine years living in Manchester, England. Teaching via an immersive method, she is insistent that her students speak only English when in class, despite many of them – especially the frustrated Elham (Maia Abbas) – regularly falling back into Farsi when the English becomes too difficult to express themselves fully. On stage, of course, the cast always speak English (excepting a key untranslated scene), so there is no need for surtitles, but it does require some specific pronunciation to allow the audience to understand when each language is being spoken. Due to reverse logic, it takes a moment for all to become clear, but in short here, an Aussie accent indicates Farsi, and an Iranian accent indicates English.
The focus of the class is preparation for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the standardised test considered critical for those wishing to study or live in predominantly English-speaking countries. With the story being told through vignettes, we slowly learn the motivations and challenges of each of the students. Roya (Marjan Mesbahi), whose son has immigrated to Canada, is desperate to be able to communicate on the phone with her granddaughter, and perhaps join her family there. Omid (Osamah Sami) is seeking to apply for a US Green Card and, perhaps through his love of English language films is seemingly a natural at speaking English. Eighteen-year-old Goli (Delaram Ahmadi) is sweetly innocent and hardworking, bringing her into conflict with the competitive Elham, a medical student who wishes to study abroad, but is harbouring a secret shame.
What makes this funny and touching story most engrossing is the importance of becoming English fluent to these characters. For while learning a foreign language is an experience many of us may have had, it’s eye-opening to understand the implications of struggling with learning the language when your future depends upon your success in doing so.
English casts a new light on the struggles that come through the feelings of loss of identity, and the way a person’s demeanour, intention and perception by others is changed when they aren’t speaking their native language, such as not to be able to make a joke or show sarcasm.
The beauty of Toossi’s script is that she demonstrates all this with equal measures of humour, sadness and hope. Director Tasnim Hossain equally gets this balance just right, bringing the poignant moments into focus, while swiftly moving from scene to scene and keeping the tone of the piece uplifting. Production elements are all on point, as usual with the MTC, and the company should be congratulated for bringing this story to Melbourne audiences, which will surely have a wide appeal while also providing migrant viewers a reflection of their experiences.
Image: Pia Johnson
