Review: ENGLISH at Studio Theatre

Is learning a new language a hindrance to your heart's love of your cultural heritage, is it purely functional, or is it a means of gaining enrichment and new understanding? Is precise pronunciation meant to trip lightly off the tongue in any language or is it best to take pride in your original accent? Is Farsi one of the most poetic languages in the world? These are some of the questions raised in the alternately serious, disarming and somewhat indefinable play English now being presented at the Studio Theatre.

This play by playwright Sanaz Toossi takes place during the Spring of 2009 in Karaj, Iran and this timeframe is obviously intertwined with the personas of the five characters we encounter on the stage. Playwright Toossi eschews easy answers or an overt geopolitical stance with her writing. It is obvious (upon reflection) that she is stressing a small note of tentative hope as four students try to learn English in a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language class) under the guidance of their teacher.

The play opens with the eager students' coping to learn English during the campaign of reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi in the Spring of 2009 and ends with the onslaught of fierce rain perhaps signifying the sense of impending doom. (Incumbent conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's claim of a landslide victory in the June 2009 election---according to the Timeline of Iranian protests published in the program). This swift progression of political events was mirrored throughout the play in a understated manner---as the characters in the play increasingly showed some shades of disappointment and some shattered ideals.

Yet the play's directorial style is never handled in a "heavy-handed" or reactionary manner. Director Knud Adams focused on the idiosyncrasies of the characters in an almost Chekhovian style----ideas are expressed with a seemingly spontaneous, reflective, and quasi-declamatory style. (I do not know if this was intended but the work reminded me of the Chekhovian anecdotal speaking of characters from a Chekhov play). The characters' bickering, humor, and habits ------are what one could relate to in any classroom setting.

Role play, videos, and music are some of the routines that the instructor of this motley crew, Marjan (an interesting performance by Nazanin Nour) utilizes to increase engagement and motivation. (It all feels perfectly appropriate, but I sometimes wished for a dramatic arc or some overt passion).

The cast is all thoroughly professional but the performance of Tara Grammy as the student Elham takes the acting honors. Ms. Grammy portrays a vulnerable spirit who covers her fears with a tough streetwise defiance and frankness.

Narges Kalogli (as Goli) creates a very amusing character who is funny without knowing it ---she reminded me of the seemingly innocent and circumspect person you might meet at a party who will suddenly surprise you with an audacious and earthy remark.

Maboud Ebrahimzadeh's portrayal of Omid expertly conveys the confidence of his character. Nina Ameri as Roya sensitively delivers a performance that embodies a character with conflicted feelings about her learning and accent.

A thought that occurred to me is that the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language ) could be construed to be used as a generic subject title ----or it could be construed with an emphasis on the word "foreign" as a quasi-negative adjective when referring to the English language.

Set design by Afsoon Pajoufar is clean and sleekly designed with a table and chairs set in the center of the stage and ten well-crafted vertical windows set mid stage behind this classroom setting. Bright lights and a predominance of white encase the set. Farther upstage behind the windows is an evocative yet functional entry space to the classroom setting (this adds nice depth to the stage design).

Costume design by Dina El-Aziz is aptly done as well as appealing to the eye.

This delicate play might not be for all tastes, but it will definitely be rewarding for those who want to seek out the unusual and allusive in their theatrical fare. The Studio Theatre's production of English is an illuminating look into the language of linguistics and human connection.

Running Time: One Hour and Forty Minutes with no intermission

English runs through February 26, 2023 at the Studio Theatre located at 1501 14th Street, Washington, DC 20005.

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