Culture Writers Heidi Downing and Ruby Kwartz review English, praising the script, cast performances, and the direction of the play
Heidi Downing and Ruby Kwartz review English, which plays at the RSC’s The Other Place theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon until 1st June, before transferring to London’s Kiln Theatre for 5th-29th June.
Perspective One: Heidi Downing
Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play English is making its European debut and taking the Royal Shakespeare Company by storm. English explores topics of language, communication, cultural expectations, and accents with raw sensitivity, making it an important educational experience for audiences as they delve into this deeply moving story.
The comedy does not detract from the powerful dialogue about identity, family, and home, which remains the core message of this story
Toossi’s script is cleverly written to strike a useful commentary on how and why we learn language, whilst also being incredibly funny. In brief, English tells the story of four adults navigating the process of learning English in preparation for an upcoming TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), guided by passionate teacher Marjan (Nadia Albina). Anisha Fields’ set design accurately portrays the classroom setting with excellent attention to detail, instantly transporting audience members to the heart of the action. The dialogue is entertainingly witty and crafts moments of comic relief, such as characters responding to Shakira lyrics as a technique for learning the English language. The comedy does not detract from the powerful dialogue about identity, family, and home, which remains the core message of this story.
Diyan Zora’s direction compliments the acting style of the profoundly talented cast
Diyan Zora’s direction compliments the acting style of the profoundly talented cast to bring out the complex characters and create moments of heartfelt beauty. There are standout performances from every actor in this small cast who successfully bring this beautiful script into fruition. I would like to give a special mention to Lanna Joffrey’s portrayal of Roya – they deliver lines with an emotionally-charged demeanour to capture the role of a headstrong mother who is proud of her heritage.
Overall, the excellently crafted script and stellar performances of the cast create an important theatrical treat that is simply not to be missed. English takes you on a whirlwind tour of every emotion from laughter to tears as you fall in love with the diverse array of characters and become emotionally attached to the journeys and challenges they face.
Rating: 5/5
Perspective Two: Ruby Kwartz
The setting is characterised by generic off-white walls, harsh LED lighting and plastic chairs. This sanitised teaching space is the sole setting of the English classroom in Iran. During the course of the classes, the students discuss and argue about how learning a new language can complicate their lives, as well as opening doors for new opportunities. However, as their test approaches, tensions increase and the burdens of compromising one’s identity in order to speak English becomes increasingly difficult for some of them to bear.
The setting is characterised by generic off-white walls, harsh LED lighting and plastic chairs
The use of accents in the play is immediately striking, as the characters switch between practising English or speaking their native Farsi; the actors differentiate their accent to allow the English-speaking audience to understand both conversations. The concept becomes more familiar as the play progresses and allows the audience to be confronted with the challenge of sounding ‘different’ as opposed to speaking in a familiar tongue. The actors manage these transitions seamlessly; some move constantly between accents in a way which becomes extremely familiar, whilst for others the change is poignantly notable.
The small cast perform exquisitely, each providing an individual insight into different issues of personal and national identity
The small cast perform exquisitely, each providing an individual insight into different issues of personal and national identity. Between them, they explore the emotional burden of emigrating to a foreign country, the distress of being unable to fully articulate oneself through language, and the pain of being notably different when attempting to pronounce words that do not fit one’s accent. A challenge faced by all the students is how to reflect one’s entire personality in a foreign tongue, if indeed it is possible to be the same person in two different languages. The wider political issues of citizenship and national identity are also present, as most of the students are learning English with the aim of emigrating to Australia or North America. Joffrey’s performance of Roya’s struggle to connect with her son and granddaughter who live in Canada provides an extremely moving yet harsh critique of the ‘mass-exodus’ of people from Iran to the West.
Albina is also phenomenal as Marjan, the passionate English teacher. She energetically embodies the challenge of attempting to motivate a group of students to overcome the difficulties and insecurities of learning a language, yet her own relationship with language (and consequently her identity) prompts an incredibly moving performance. The ways in which the students deliberately or inadvertently challenge Marjan fill the play with intrigue and tense emotional complications.
The ways in which the students deliberately or inadvertently challenge Marjan fill the play with intrigue and tense emotional complications.
Whilst the play grapples with the tough challenges of identity and language, it is also remarkably humorous. There are many opportunities for laughter, which are thankfully not limited to the accidental innuendos or verbal missteps that occur as part of learning a new language. The eclectic mix of characters from different ages, genders, and backgrounds creates funny exchanges whilst also drawing out the problems they are suppressing. The many digs at English language and culture sit well with the audience, with a joke about the unpoetic nature of the English language creating a sense of satisfying irony as it is performed only minutes away from Shakespeare’s birthplace.
English embodies the adage of ‘quality not quantity’ as this one-act play manages to explore a plethora of social and cultural issues whilst remaining humorous and poignant in equal measure. Regardless of anyone’s personal experience with learning a language, it is a fascinating and enjoyable show that is well-worth the watch.
Rating: 4.5/5
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