The Melbourne Theatre Company, presents English by Sanaz Toossi
By Jake Freeman
Learning a new language is difficult. Most of us are lucky if we know more than one language and fluently at that, especially as adults. That was certainly the case this past Saturday night at The Southbank Theatre with the Melbourne Theatre Company’s latest production, English.
English the play transports us to a very different place at a very different time. The year is 2008, the location, Karaj, Iran. Nearly thirty years has passed since the Revolution. The country is going through severe economic turmoil in the lead up to the Global Recession and relations with its neighbouring countries are tense.
It was a time when many of its citizens would have wanted to have learnt a new language, leave, and start a new life outside of Iran. English, the play is centred around four Iranian adult students preparing for the Test of English as a Foreign Language, which is crucial for their ambitions to study or live abroad. Their teacher, Marjan, guides them to the new language over a period of six weeks.
English was written by Iranian American playwright Sanaz Toossi. She wrote it in the wake of the then President Donald Trump’s travel bans in 2017, which saw entry into the U.S by certain foreign nationals restricted. The play made its off-Broadway debut in 2022. It would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama the following year.
In English, we meet Marjan, the teacher. After spending nine years in Manchester, England, Marjan returns home to teach Advanced English. All her four students are unique and Marjan learns the significance the language of English holds for each of them: Elham, an aspiring medical student who struggles with the implication that mastering English means sacrificing her Iranian identity. Omid, who seeks a green card and enjoys watching Hollywood films. Roya, who wants to communicate with her Canadian granddaughter. Goli, who is earnest and determined to learn and stay out of political debates.
During their classes, Marjan enforces a strict English-only rule in class, creating tension and highlighting the personal and cultural conflicts each student faces. Between word games and role playing, we get glimpses into their lives as well as their teacher’s.
Although this play won the award for Drama, surprisingly it was very funny and witty. The audience showed amusement across the 90-minute show. English avoids stepping into heavy political territory.
Although, I did not pick it up at first, when the characters are speaking English, they adopt a Farsi (language of Iran) accents, but when they speak in their “native tongue”, the actors simply use their own Australian accents. It means there is no Farsi spoken on stage; the audience substitutes Australian English for Farsi in the theatrical equivalent of live dubbing. The effect is quite unique, similar to the Hollywood film The Hunt For Red October, where Sean Connery’s character starts off speaking Russian then switches to speaking English in his native Scottish accent.
The cast gave an incredible performance, given for most of them, it was their first major stage show. Each performer made their presence felt. Salme Geransar led the way as Marjan, the teacher who tries to deal with her four very different students while coming to terms living back in Iran after being away for almost a decade. Maia Abbas as Elham earned the biggest laughs of the night with her quirky one liners and language mishaps. Roya, played by Marjan Mesbahi, longing to be with her children and grandchildren, brought the most poignant moments to the show. On a technical level, writing on the whiteboard by the cast could not be seen clearly from the back rows.
English is a story about finding your voice, embracing the imperfect, and occasionally getting lost in translation. While this play won’t win over everyone, just about everyone will be able to identify with it: migrants, children of migrants, those who have tried learning another language, been a tourist or expat where their native tongue is not the first language, if spoken at all. It’s compassionate and inspires compassion.
English is produced by The Melbourne Theatre Company and is directed by Tasnim Hossain, written by Sanaz Toossi and stars Maia Abba, Delaram Ahmadi, Salme Geransar, Marjan Mesbahi, Osamah Sami.
The performance is playing for a short season, up until and including Thursday 29 August at The Summer, Southbank Theatre, 140 Southbank Boulevard Southbank, a short walk from Flinders Street Station. English contains adult themes, culturally sensitive commentary, and some coarse language.
The running time for this production is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes with no interval.
To buy tickets and learn more about the show, go to https://www.mtc.com.au/plays-and-tickets/whats-on/season-2024/english/
