Creative Team
Directed by
Hamid Dehghani
Scenic Design
Omid Akbari
Costume Design
Afsaneh Aayani
Lighting Design
Charles R. MacLeod
Sound Design
Melanie Chen Cole
Compositions
Hessam Dianpour
Artistic Perspective

English at Denver Center takes us beyond the language of crisis through which Iran is so often seen and into an intimate human space: a TOEFL classroom where people gather, speak, hesitate, and try to express themselves in a language that is not their own. What moves me about Sanaz Toossi’s play is the way it brings Iranian lives close—not as headlines or statistics, but through their humor, intelligence, insecurity, tenderness, and longing. It reveals how language can reshape identity, confidence, and belonging, while reminding us of the universal desire to be seen, heard, and understood.

Critical Response

“Hamid Dehghani—a master of bold and effective choices.”

“[Dehghani] paint[s] his scenes like classic artworks.”

Watch the Trailer
Production Photography
Photography by Jamie Kraus