Full Cast and Creative Team Announced for ENGLISH West Coast Premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for the West Coast premiere of award-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi's English, performing at Berkeley Rep's Peet's Theatre (2025 Addison St., Berkeley) Friday, March 31 through Sunday, May 7, 2023. Press night will be held on Thursday, April 6, 2023. Tickets ($43-$119) for English are on sale now and can be purchased online at berkeleyrep.org/shows/english/ or by phone at 510-647-2949 (Tue-Sun, 12-7 p.m.). Ticket prices are subject to change without notice.

Directed by Mina Morita (Director of Artistic & Artist Development at Crowded Fire Theater), English is an incisive, funny, and moving seriocomedy that intertwines language and identity. In a classroom in Iran in 2008, four adult students are preparing for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). But as they pursue fluency in a language that for them represents access, opportunity, and even escape, they find that while English may expand their world, it might also limit their voice. English is the winner of the 2022 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play.

"I am deeply honored to be making my West Coast debut as a playwright at Berkeley Rep," said Toossi. "Ever since my days at the Ground Floor in 2019, I have been eagerly waiting for the opportunity to return to this incredible theater. As ever, I take great pride in being Iranian, and I hope this production is a chance for the vibrant Iranian community in the Bay Area to see some of their experiences reflected onstage."

"I am so proud to welcome Mina Morita back to Berkeley Rep in her mainstage directing debut with the company," said Berkeley Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer. "Mina was part of the Berkeley Rep artistic staff for several years, and, of course, is well known throughout the Bay Area."

Adds Pfaelzer: "While I have been eager to have English on our stage from the moment I encountered it, I could not have anticipated that our production would arrive in the midst of the devastating events that have roiled Iran and the world over the last several months. What a moment to come together in the presence of Sanaz's warm-hearted, wise, and deeply humanistic play, which invites us to consider the ways in which language informs our sense of self, the way we define ourselves, and are seen and understood (or not!) by others. I am delighted to bring these two extraordinary women together, and can't wait to share this play, and these characters, with our audience."

"Sanaz's effervescent and nuanced play grapples with the paradox of identity when learning another language, especially with the possibility of leaving home," said Morita. "Who do we become when we speak in another tongue? Is language a home? As a daughter of a continuously migrating family, these questions are core to my lived experience."

Adds Morita: "From 2008 to 2015, Berkeley Rep was an artistic home-where I learned from many great artists who continue to inspire me; where I supported the first five years of The Ground Floor, and where I learned how to be an artistic director. In returning home eight years later, it is striking to reflect on who I have become and how my own artistic language has deepened."

The cast of English includes (in alphabetical order) Sahar Bibiyan (Marjan), Mehry Eslaminia (Elham), Sarah Nina Hayon (Roya), Amir Malaklou (Omid), and Christine Mirzayan (Goli).

Directed by Mina Morita, the creative team of English includes Annie Smart (Scenic Designer), Shahrzad Mazaheri (Costume Designer), Reza Behjat (Lighting Designer), Mikhail Fiksel (Sound Designer), Ana Bayat (Dialect Coach), and Torange Yeghiazarian (Cultural Consultant).

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