ENGLISH
Firehall Arts Centre
January 23 to February 01, 2026
English by Sanaz Toossi is a quietly powerful and deeply human play about four Iranian adults preparing for an English proficiency exam in a storefront classroom in Karaj near Tehran. As they navigate grammar rules and pronunciation exercises, they also wrestle with the more profound implications of learning a language that represents new opportunities, personal reinvention, and, for some, a painful detachment from their identity and homeland. With warmth, humour, and insight, the play explores themes of belonging, cultural displacement, and the sacrifices made in pursuit of a new life.
Blackout Art Society Production
Firehall Arts Centre Presentation
Director's Note
The Language We Keep, The Language We Lose
This question has been a constant companion in my life:
What do we lose, and what do we become, when we try to speak in a language that is not our own?
It’s a feeling I know in my bones, the hope that a new language might unlock a new world, and the quiet, persistent fear that a piece of your soul might slip away in the translation. The moment I read English, I felt seen. It gave a voice to that deeply personal terrain I’ve navigated for years.
In this production, we wanted to honour that vulnerability. We focused on the classroom not just as a setting, but as a sacred, charged space. A place where every hesitant verb, every corrected pronunciation, is a flash of ambition, pride, shame, or longing. We came to see the accent not as a flaw, but as an archive of courage. And in the beautiful, sudden moments of Farsi, we glimpse the characters’ most authentic selves—the language that holds memory, humour, and the unshakeable feeling of home.
Bringing this delicate, powerful story to life was only possible because of an extraordinary circle of artists. This work is a testament to their hearts and craftsmanship, as they lent their hands, voices, and spirits to this process.
Every person on this stage is searching for a way to be heard—authentically, bravely, and on their own terms.
Thank you for sharing this journey with us.
