ENGLISH Comes to ArtsWest in April

ArtsWest will produce the 2023 Pulitzer Prize winning play ENGLISH by Sanaz Toossi. This co-production with Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble will be directed by Seda co-founder, Naghmeh Samini. The cast features Vahishta Vafadari, Newsha Farahani, Janet Hayatshahi, Shereen Khatibloo, and Emon Elboudwarej. ENGLISH performs at ArtsWest from April 4 through April 28, 2024. Tickets are available online at artswest.org or by phone at (206) 938.0963.
 
Two words set in motion award-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi’s intricate and profound New York debut: “English Only.” This is the mantra that rules one classroom in Iran, where four adult students are preparing for the TOEFL — the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Chasing fluency through a maze of word games, listening exercises, and show-and-tell sessions, they hope that one day, English will make them whole. But it might be splitting them each in half.
 
ArtsWest is thrilled to be co-producing ENGLISH with Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble. Seda’s co-founders, Parmida Ziaei and Naghmeh Samini are both key members of ENGLISH’s Creative Team. Ziaei, who has served as Scenic Designer on past ArtsWest productions of ALMA and AN ENDLESS SHIFT, will be Scenic and Costume Designer for the upcoming production. Director, Naghmeh Samini, is joining ArtsWest for the first time. A prominent, award-winning playwright and screenwriter in Iran, Samini celebrated two successful runs in Seattle as the director and playwright of The Forgotten History of Mastaneh. In a recent interview with American Theatre Magazine, Samini reflected on ENGLISH’s ability to connect with audiences. Rather than focusing on the macro, like politics or history, ENGLISH focuses on the micro - five complex characters bursting with life, humor, and dreams for their future that immediately connect with audiences and draw them in. In the article, Samini shares, “What I like about this play is that it doesn’t try to show Iranian women as superheroes. It just shows us as real people with strengths and weaknesses.”
 
ArtsWest will present English, Thursday through Saturday at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3pm.

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