Elham, playwright Sanaz Toossi’s brilliant character played by an equally brilliant Vanah Assadourian, frustratedly exclaims in a tongue unfamiliar to her mouth, “I want everyone to know I am not an idiot and also I am nice.” English, produced by the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, captures the day-to-day drama of living your identity in an unfamiliar language.
ENGLISH, written by playwright Sanaz Toossi, won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and crafts an intimate, devastating portrait of language—as both bridge and barrier. Set in an Iranian classroom, the play unfolds less as a traditional narrative and more as a series of moments unfolding over time.
Photos and video highlights have been released for the Pulitzer Prize-winning play ENGLISH at Neuhaus Theatre. Written by Sanaz Toossi and directed by Evren Odcikin, the play follows five students in an Iranian TOEFL class navigating language and identity.
Alley Theatre has revealed the cast and creative team of English. Directed by Evren Odcikin, Sanaz Toossi’s heartwarming comedy follows five Iranians, each with a personal reason for learning English.
Check out production photos from WISH YOU WERE HERE, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company's Chicago premiere and the first production in its 30th anniversary season.
Remy Bumppo Theatre Company has revealed the cast, creative and production teams for the Chicago premiere and first production in its 30th anniversary season, Wish You Were Here. Learn more!
Remy Bumppo Theatre Company has announced its 2025–2026 season, marking its 30th year of producing language-driven theatre in Chicago. The milestone season will include the Chicago premiere of Wish You Were Here by Sanaz Toossi, a revival of Hedda Gabler adapted by Christopher Shinn, and the return of the reading series Readings on Ravenswood in spring 2026.
The best of Broadway was on hand to celebrate opening night of Engilsh- Sanaz Toossi's Pulitzer Prize-winning play English, directed by Knud Adams. Check out photos of the cast and creative team before the curtain went up here.
The Guthrie Theater has revealed the cast and creative team for English by Sanaz Toossi, directed by Hamid Dehghani. Learn more about the show and see how to purchase tickets.
Watch a scene from Sanaz Toossi's Pulitzer Prize-winning play English, currently running at Goodman Theatre through June 16th, in the video here!
Discover the exciting lineup for Goodman Theatre's Summer 2024 season, featuring a mix of classic plays, contemporary works, and world premieres. Enjoy diverse and dynamic performances all summer long.
Goodman Theatre opens Sanaz Toossi's Pulitzer Prize-winning play English in a co-production with Guthrie Theater tonight, May 20, 2024, and adds five performances due to high demand for tickets.
Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play English arrives at Goodman Theatre, with rehearsals for Iranian director Hamid Dehghani’s production beginning on April 16. Learn more about the performance and see how to purchase tickets.
Northlight Theatre, continues its 2023–2024 season with the suspenseful 2022 Pulitzer Prize Finalist Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury, directed by recent Northlight Artistic Fellow Hamid Dehghani. See video highlights from the play below!
Northlight Theatre's production movingly captures the pessimistic practicality and undying hope that still plagues those most affected by a conflict that never really ended. The play runs through February 25.
Northlight Theatre, continues its 2023–2024 season with the suspenseful 2022 Pulitzer Prize Finalist Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury, directed by recent Northlight Artistic Fellow Hamid Dehghani.
Yale Repertory Theatre begins its 2023–24 season with Wish You Were Here by Sanaz Toossi, directed by Sivan Battat, October 5–28, at Yale Repertory Theatre. Opening Night is Thursday, October 12, which is also press night.
Writers Theatre will concludes its 2022/23 Season with the Midwest Premiere A Distinct Society, a timely story—needed more now than ever—about finding each other across borders, both physical and emotional.
Martin Yousif Zebari’s LAYALINA is a heartwarming multigenerational family play that spans from Baghdad to Skokie. While Zebari doesn’t shy away from portraying the family’s trauma and the challenges of their immigrant experiences, LAYALINA is the opposite of many other family plays. It’s about how the central family tries to reconnect and find commonalities, despite their generational and cultural differences.
Rehearsals have begun for the two centerpiece “developmental productions” featured in Goodman Theatre's 17th annual New Stages Festival, a free celebration of new works by some of the country's finest established and emerging playwrights.
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