Have you ever learned English as a second language? If so, then the play English will resonate with you to a greater or lesser extent; if English is your mother tongue, then this play will let you temporarily experience the uncertainty and anxiety of a second language learner in an unfamiliar linguistic environment.
The comedy tells the story of an adult English class in Iran in 2008. Four students, under the guidance of their teacher Marjan, are studying English for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. The adult students have different reasons for learning English. They span a wide range of ages, genders and professions, and their initial English abilities differ between them. The teacher, who once lived in Manchester, England, for nine years, is at odds with her students' love of Farsi. In the end, Farsi seems to ‘win’: the "Only English" sign on the classroom whiteboard is finally erased.
Most of the lines in this play are in English, but a few are in Farsi. Most of the characters also speak their English with a heavy accent, which to be honest, caused me some difficulty to understand at first, especially as a non-native English speaker. But I don't see this as a disadvantage; on the contrary, such a linguistic environment can create tension and discomfort for native English speakers, which is rare to most of them. English, as one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, gives them the unique privilege of travelling to many countries without language barriers. The dialogue in Farsi places an audience of presumably native English speakers in a foreigner's shoes, which is exactly what many people feel when they first come to English-speaking countries.
The most touching part of the play was when the grandmother, Roya, kept calling her son in Canada, hoping to find out about the visa and flight arrangements to go there. However, her son never picks up the phone. I was deeply moved when Roya, with tears in her eyes, complained on the phone: "you are even more indifferent when you speak English" and "you gave my granddaughter a name that I can't even pronounce". When we speak a foreign language, we seem to pull away from our past identities and enter a new culture. But can we really cut ourselves off from the past?
What was surprising was the development of one of the characters, Omid. This young man initially demonstrates a proficiency in English that sets him apart from other beginners. He shows a rich vocabulary in games and watches English films with his teacher after class without difficulty. But as his conflict with another student, Elham, intensifies, his ‘true’ identity is revealed. He grew up with American cousins and has spoken English since he was a child. While the other students and the teacher feel betrayed, he feels offended that it is only in this classroom that his English is considered ‘accent-free’ and ‘perfect’.
When I was growing up learning English, accent was always an important criterion for determining English proficiency. I was always expected to imitate 'pure' American or British pronunciation, and students were even ashamed of their accents. I didn't realise that even native English speakers are also bothered by their accents. This characterisation takes the script to another level: what is the perfect English? If language is only used as a tool, then it seems that the purpose of learning a language is only to achieve a 'perfect' level of proficiency, but the culture and identity behind it is also lost.
English is like a knife dipped in honey. Behind the funny dialogues, people are simultaneously losing and searching for identities and cultures. It is not only second language learners who relate to this , but also native English speakers who are placed in the ‘alienating’ situation like the former. The play is tightly plotted and the actors are incredibly talented; however, the set is a little monotonous. This does not detract from the fact that it is a good play, both thought-provoking and laugh-out-loud funny.