Guthrie Theater to Present Sanaz Toossi's Pulitzer Prize-Winning Play ENGLISH

The Guthrie Theater has revealed the cast and creative team for English by Sanaz Toossi, directed by Hamid Dehghani. In this humorous and heartfelt new play, four students in Karaj, Iran, strive to pass an English proficiency test using an English-only learning method. A co-production with Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, where it extended its run due to popular demand, English begins previews at the Guthrie on Saturday, July 13 and will play through Sunday, August 18 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage.

Single and group tickets are now on sale through the Box Office or online at guthrietheater.org. Accessibility services (ASL-interpreted, audio-described and open-captioned performances) are also available on select dates. 

“We’re delighted to be co-producing English with The Goodman Theatre, and we can’t wait to welcome Hamid Dehghani for his Guthrie directorial debut,” said Artistic Director Joseph Haj. “The show received tremendous critical and audience acclaim during its run in Chicago, and we’re thrilled to bring it to the Twin Cities for our audience to enjoy.” 

Dehghani shared, “I am excited to invite the audience into this world, to let them feel Iran and consider what it’s like learning English through the lens of many immigrants in this country.” He continued, “I hope English helps people come to peace with who they are in terms of language and feel reassured if they don’t speak English well. That’s the magic of theater. When you see it onstage, it helps you to figure out how you are functioning in your own reality.”

Set in Karaj, Iran, in 2009, English introduces us to educator Marjan, who perfected her English during a nine-year stint in Britain. In the classroom, she strictly maintains an English-only method to ensure her four students pass the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) with flying colors. Everyone has varying motivations, accents and enthusiasm as they pursue fluency together — Marjan included.. After six weeks of trial, error and effort, what they discover about themselves may be the greatest learning curve of all. 

English premiered in March 2022 at Atlantic Theater Company in a co-production with Roundabout Theatre Company and received a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, an Obie Award for Best New Play, the John Gassner Playwriting Award from Outer Critics Circle and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Play. Toossi is also the recipient of a 2020 Steinberg Playwright Award. For English, she received the 2020 Weissberger New Play Award from Williamstown Theatre Festival and 2021 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for early career playwrights. This is the first play by Toossi to be produced by the Guthrie.

The cast of English includes Sahar Bibiyan (Guthrie: debut) as Roya, Nikki Massoud (Guthrie: debut) as Elham, Roxanna Hope Radja (Guthrie: debut) as Marjan, Pej Vahdat (Guthrie: debut) as Omid and Shadee Vossoughi (Guthrie: debut) as Goli.

The creative team includes Sanaz Toossi (Playwright), Hamid Dehghani (Director), Courtney O’Neill (Scenic Designer), Shahrzad Mazaheri (Costume Designer), Jason Lynch (Lighting Designer), Mikaal Sulaiman (Sound Designer), Keely Wolter (Vocal Coach), Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel (Dramaturg), Vaneh Assadourian (Dialect Coach). Lauren Port, CSA (Casting Director) Lyndsey R. Harter (Stage Manager), and Laura Topham (Assistant Stage Manager). 

Sanaz Toossi is an Iranian American playwright from Orange County, California. Her plays include the critically acclaimed, award-winning English and Wish You Were Here. She is currently under commission at Atlantic Theater Company, Roundabout Theatre Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, South Coast Repertory and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. On television, Toossi has worked on “Invitation to a Bonfire” (AMC), “A League of Their Own” (Amazon Prime Video) and “Five Women” (Marielle Heller/Big Beach), and she sold an original idea for “The Persians” to FX. Toossi is a member of Youngblood and the Middle Eastern American Writers Lab at The Lark, an alum of Clubbed Thumb’s Early-Career Writers’ Group and a 2019 Page 73 Playwriting Fellow. Awards include the 2020 Steinberg Playwright Award, 2022 Horton Foote Prize and 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Toossi received an M.F.A. from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.  

Hamid Dehghani is an accomplished Iranian theater director, playwright and actor. Throughout his career in Iran, he earned numerous awards and accolades for his work in theater. Some of his acclaimed productions include his original scripts, From the Environs of Milad and Sohrab’s Transgression, as well as Nathan and Tabileth and Leila. Dehghani directed memorable productions like A Moment of Silence, Eurydice and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. Recent directing credits include English by Sanaz Toossi at The Goodman Theatre; Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khouri at Northlight Theatre; and Baba by Denmo Ibrahim at Amphibian Stage. During the 2020 pandemic, he co-founded Grass Studio Theatre, leading outdoor performances of three collectively devised pieces — Picnic, Story in a Box and Reportage of a Room — at various outdoor locations in Chicago. Hamid is a former Artistic Fellow at Northlight Theatre and holds an M.F.A. in Directing from Northwestern University. Learn more at www.hamiddehghani.com. 

Related Events

Post-Play Discussions 

Patrons are invited to stay in the theater following select performances for a 20-minute conversation about the production facilitated by Guthrie staff. Cast members may join the discussion as they are able. Post-play discussions are supported by Fredrikson & Byron. 

Tuesday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 28 at 1 p.m.

Saturday, August 3 at 1 p.m.

Sunday, August 11 at 1 p.m.

Saturday, August 17 at 1 p.m.

Accessible Performances

ASL-Interpreted Performances 
American Sign Language interpreters sign the performance as it plays out onstage. 

Friday, August 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 17 at 1 p.m.

Audio-Described Performances
Audio describers provide live verbal descriptions of the action, costumes and scenery for people who are blind or have low vision.

Friday, August 9 at 7:30 p.m. 
Saturday, August 17 at 1 p.m. 

Open-Captioned Performances 
LED screens display text simultaneously with the performance onstage. 

Sunday, August 4 at 1 p.m.
Wednesday, August 7 at 1 p.m.
Friday, August 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 10 at 1 p.m.
Wednesday, August 14 at 1 p.m. 

The Guthrie also offers ASL-interpreted, audio-described and open-captioned performances upon request. Requests must be received at least two weeks in advance.

Ticket Information 

Single tickets range from $29 to $82. Single and group tickets (minimum requirement of 15 per group) may be purchased through the Box Office at 612.377.2224 (single), 1.877.447.8243 (toll-free), 612.225.6244 (group) or online at guthrietheater.org. 

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