Speakeysie News Desk

ATLANTA — The Alliance Theatre is excited to announce the cast of its upcoming regional premiere of ENGLISH. Winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, ENGLISH has been called “a buoyant comedy and probing exploration of what it means to speak and feel understood.” (New York Theater Guide) The Alliance’s production will be directed by Iranian theatre & film director, choreographer, and writer, Shadi Ghaheri, who is now based in New York City. ENGLISH written by Iranian-American playwright Sanaz Toossi. This production will be the first of the 2023/24 season on the Hertz Stage, August 16 – September 17, 2023.

“English Only” is the mantra that rules one Iranian classroom where four adults are learning English in preparation for the TOEFL — the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Passing the test might be the key to better opportunities — a green card, medical school admission, or family reunification. Playing out in awkward lessons of word games and mistranslations, ENGLISH is both a comedy of miscommunication and a look at the ways speaking a new language can expand your world and limit your identity.

“In the play [one of the characters asks], ‘Do you ever think about who you would be if you never had to think about staying or leaving?’ and I wonder about this question as an immigrant artist daily!” states director Shadi Ghaheri. “Who would I be if I didn’t need to leave my home, choose another language, therefore find another life through it? Who would I be if I could have the privilege of not thinking about this question? Each one of these characters have to sacrifice parts of themselves in the English language and wonder, ‘Would I love myself in English, like I do in my own language, Farsi?’”

The cast features all Iranian actors as includes Auveen Dezgaran as Goli; Lilly Heidari as Jennifer (voiceover),Ash Kahn (TV: The Chosen) as Omid, Adir Lev Mann as Coach (Voiceover) and Nader (Voiceover), Pooya Mohseni (TV: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Madam Secretary) as Marjan, Sade Namei (TV: New Amsterdam, Signature Theater: Emotional Creature) as Elham, Sayé Yabandeh (TV: The Young & The Restless, DGA Theater: The M Word) as Roya. The understudy cast for ENGLISH includes Lilly Heidari, Adir Lev Mann, Laurie Shireen Sanii and Golbanoo Setayesh. 

The creative team for English includes Director, Choreographer and Writer Shadi Ghaheri, Costume Designer Afsaneh Aayani, Lighting Designer Ben Rawson, Sound Designer Bahar Royaee, Scene Designer Sadra Tehrani, and Dramaturg Diana Fathi.

Additional production support is provided by Stage Manager Amanda Perez, Assistant Stage Manager Kaylee Mesa, Line Producer Kay Nilest, and Production Management Lead Phil Baranski. 

“ENGLISH is a beautiful invitation to its audience to see belonging and the subject of identity in a different perspective,” said director Shadi Ghaheri. “To melt in a world where a group of people are trying to find another life through a language that offers them more than their own! Or at least that is the promise! It must be nice to safely and simply belong where you are born to live! Not all human beings around the world have this privilege!”

Tickets are available at Alliance Theatre Box Office by calling 404.733.4600.  Tickets are also available online at www.alliancetheatre.org/english. Discounted rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling 404.733.4690. 

VENUE INFORMATION:

The Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre

Woodruff Arts Center, Memorial Arts Building

1280 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

ENGLISH

August 16 – September 17, 2023

Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre

1280 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

Written by Sanaz Toosi

Directed by Shadi Ghaheri

Winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, ENGLISH is a heartfelt and humorous look at how identity gets lost in translation. “English Only” is the mantra that rules one Iranian classroom where four adults are learning English in preparation for the TOEFL — the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Passing the test might be the key to better opportunities — a green card, medical school admission, or family reunification. Playing out in awkward lessons of word games and mistranslations, English is both a comedy of miscommunication and a look at the ways speaking a new language can expand your world and limit your identity. A hit in its 2021 New York premiere, English was described as, “a rich new play, both contemplative and comic” by The New York Times and was awarded the 2023 Obie Award for Best New Play staged Off-Broadway over the last two years.  New York Theatre Guide called it, “a buoyant comedy and probing exploration of what it means to speak and feel understood.” 

For tickets and information, call 404.733.4600 or visitwww.alliancetheatre.org/english.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

BEFORE PLAY   

Tuesday, August 22, 2023, 7:00 p.m. (prior to 7:30 p.m.performance)  

The Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre

Woodruff Arts Center, Memorial Arts Building

1280 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

Join us for a pre-show discussion with the creative team of English. Before Play discussions are free for ticket holders. No RSVP required.  

Purchase tickets for the performance here.

IRANIAN COMMUNITY AFFINITY NIGHT   

Friday, August 25, 2023, 8:00 p.m.

The Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre

Woodruff Arts Center, Memorial Arts Building

1280 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

Iranian community members are invited to an affinity night performance of English. Following the 8pmperformance, join us for a reception and community dialogue with the production’s creative team and members of the local Iranian community.

Purchase tickets for the night’s performance here.

GLOBAL ATLANTA DAY   

Saturday, August 26, 2023, 2:30 p.m.

The Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre

Woodruff Arts Center, Memorial Arts Building

1280 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

Celebrate the linguistic diversity of Metro Atlanta at this special performance of English. Following the 2:30pmperformance, join us for a talkback with the cast ofEnglish and a community potluck with dishes from refugee, immigrant, and international communities that reside in the city. In partnership with Georgia State University’s Applied Linguistics & English as a Second Language program.  

Purchase tickets for the performance here.

About the Alliance Theatre

Founded in 1968, the Alliance Theatre is the leading producing theater in the Southeast, reaching more than 165,000 patrons annually. The Alliance is a recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award® for sustained excellence in programming, education, and community engagement.  In January 2019, the Alliance opened its new, state-of-the-art performance space, The Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre.  Known for its high artistic standards and national role in creating significant theatrical works, the Alliance has premiered more than 120 productions including nine that have transferred to Broadway.  The Alliance education department reaches 90,000 students annually through performances, classes, camps, and in-school initiatives designed to support teachers and enhance student learning.  The Alliance Theatre values community, curiosity, collaboration, and excellence, and is dedicated to representing Atlanta’s diverse community with the stories we tell, the artists, staff, and leadership we employ, and audiences we serve.  www.alliancetheatre.org 

OUR MISSION

Expanding hearts and minds on stage and off. 

OUR VISION

Making Atlanta more connected, curious, and compassionate through theatre and arts education.