Perfect ‘English’: Goodman’s funny, provocative Chicago-area premiere ponders the price of proficiency
“English” — 4 stars
English only.
An instructor writes those words on a dry erase board in a nondescript classroom as the lights come up on Goodman Theatre’s Chicago-area premiere of “English,” Sanaz Toossi’s perceptive, quietly absorbing dramedy about language and identity and how profoundly our mother tongue defines us.
The instructor’s directive — one language teachers routinely impose — poses a challenge for Toossi’s characters. They include four Iranian adults studying English in preparation for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with their teacher Marjan (Roxanna Hope Radja). An Iranian national nearly fluent in English, Marjan — who has returned home after nine years in England — has complicated relationships with her native and her adopted tongues.
Her students have a lot riding on the test, the results of which may well determine their personal and professional futures. For future doctor Elham (Nikki Massoud), acceptance to medical school depends upon a high score. Omid (Pej Vahdat) needs a good score to obtain a green card. Eighteen-year-old Goli (Shadee Vossoughi) has no specific reason for learning English, aside from better comprehension of the Western pop culture she loves. And for Roya (Sahar Bibiyan), learning English will allow her to communicate with her granddaughter who lives in Canada and whose parents insist she speak English.
“What a gift you are giving this girl,” exclaims Marjan to Roya, “learning a new language so you can know her fully.”
But at what cost?
That issue underscores Toossi’s funny, provocative play, which received 2023’s Pulitzer Prize for drama. What essential part of ourselves do we lose (or at the very least obscure) when we express ourselves in a language other than our native tongue?
Produced in association with the Guthrie Theatre, Goodman’s production is gentle, artfully acted and directed with unvarnished authenticity by Hamid Dehghani, an Iranian immigrant who took TOEFL to pursue his American dream.
Toossi, the daughter of an Iranian immigrant, sets the action in the Tehran, Iran, suburb of Karaj in a nondescript classroom overlooking a crowded urban center. Above it, in a building adjacent to the school, a window reveals a residence whose cozy décor is a sharp contrast with the classroom’s sparse, institutional appearance. Designer Courtney O’Neill’s set seemingly suggests the contrast between their familiar, comforting Farsi and the remote, functional English they’re attempting to master.
To that end, when the characters speak Farsi, their English is perfect. When they speak English, however, they speak haltingly in heavy accents. A clever theatrical device, it adds another layer to Toossi’s deceptively simple play.
The acting is impressive. Bibiyan exquisitely conveys the anguish Roya feels being unable to communicate with her granddaughter as well as the poignant realization that mastering English may not guarantee a relationship. Massoud is equally compelling as an impassioned young woman determined to secure her future without sacrificing her identity.
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Location: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, (312) 443-3800, goodmantheatre.org
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday through June 16. Also 7:30 p.m. May 28 and 2 p.m. June 6. No show June 12
Tickets: $15-$55
Running time: About 100 minutes, no intermission
Parking: Nearby garages; discounted parking with Goodman Theatre validation at the Government Center Self Park at Clark and Lake streets
Rating: For teens and older