Theatergoers seeing the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “English” at the Barrington Stage Company will have a treat this fall: It stars the playwright.
steps into the role she wrote as one of four Iranian students preparing for an English language exam over several weeks in a storefront school near Tehran.
“I’ve honestly just had to forget that I wrote the play,” says Toossi. “I just can’t use my playwright brain right now. I think it would be impossible to do this play. I can’t be the writer in the room.” “I love that you have to release something you’ve written into the world. I have found pleasure in ceding control of my version of the thing. I love that there’s such a mystery in what we do. And every production has taken ownership of the play,” she says.
The play is packed with cultural references — like to Christiane Amanpour, “Whenever, Wherever” by Shakira, and Hugh Grant. One character admires Julia Roberts’ teeth, saying “They could rip through wire. In a good way.” “I think she’s so angered by the injustice of it all that she has to leave and that to leave she has to learn this new language and in pursuit of that new language, she sounds like an idiot,” says Toossi.
“It should not feel too sad, but it also shouldn’t be played as like a broad comedy,” she says. “This is not a play about sad, depressed Iranians. It’s a play about people really trying to make themselves understood and the failures are often funny.”puts her in the company of August Wilson, Edward Albee, Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. Toossi says the win has relieved some pressure on her going forward.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Rosalind Franklin Deserves a Posthumous Nobel Prize for Co-discovering DNA StructureAwarding Rosalind Franklin a Nobel Prize posthumously for her role in DNA discovery is the honorable—and scientific—thing to do
Read more »
Night Sky at Hadrian's Wall, Sunlit Portrait Earn Win Northern Photography PrizeAmateur photographers impress with prize-winning images showing the character of the historic North East region of England.
Read more »
Monday night's Powerball jackpot hits $785 million, 9th largest lottery prizeThe ninth-largest lottery jackpot will be on the line when numbers are drawn for a $785 million Powerball prize.
Read more »
Powerball jackpot climbs to $835 million after no one overcomes awful odds to win top prizeThe Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $835 million after no one beat the immense odds Monday night and won the top prize.
Read more »
With no winner since billion-dollar prize, Powerball jackpot climbsThe Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $835 million for Wednesday's drawing.
Read more »