Trail & District Arts Council
presents
“English”
A Blackout Art Society production
Performing Arts Series 26/27
Thursday, October 22 at 7:30 pm
The Bailey Theatre
The Trail & District Arts Council presents the timely, quietly powerful, and often funny play “English”, on Thursday, October 22 at 7:30 pm at The Bailey Theatre as part of the Performing Arts Trail series.
This production of the Pulitzer Prize winning drama by Santosh Toossi, is infused with warmth, humour, and insight, as it explores themes of belonging, cultural displacement, and the sacrifices made in pursuit of a new life.
As a teacher writes the words “English Only” on the whiteboard we meet four Iranian students studying English near Tehran. Roya, Goli, Elham and Omid all have varying reasons for wanting to live abroad, from being accepted into an Australian medical school to wanting to connect with their expat son and grandchild.
All the awkwardness of a foreign language classroom is covered. Traditional names are made into digestible English versions, and oral exercises trip people up, as they play games to reinforce English vocabulary words and try to replicate the all-too-proper English audio tapes.
But, as they study for the standardized test that will measure their English proficiency, we see how language shapes who they are and how they navigate the world, as they are forced to shed a layer of themselves for the sake of belonging.
As Director Amir N. Hosseini says in his director’s notes for the show: “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.”
The 2023 Pulitzer prize winner seems like a comedy about studying a foreign language, but eventually the laughter from the audience fades as we realize that as the students learn English they are at the same time grieving leaving behind Iran, their friends and families.
Variety called Toossi’s play “...hands down a masterpiece of theater. Undeniably one of the best plays of the decade.”
Blackout Art Society is Vancouver's immigrant-led theatre company, amplifying refugee and multicultural voices since 2013.
Photo credit: Sayna Ghaderi
Single tickets are $35.00
30 years old and under pay $17.50.
A 7-show series pass is just $215. Previous season subscribers get to renew their pass and seats first from May 19 until June 15.
Or, Pick Your Own season by becoming an EDGE Member for $30, or $50 membership for two, and get 20% off Trail Arts Council presentations and other benefits.
All tickets are available online at purchase.trail-arts.com, by phone at 250-368-9669, and in person at the Bailey Box Office at 1501 Cedar Ave., Trail
Tickets are non-refundable.
Reminder - please do not wear strong smelling perfumes or colognes to the Bailey Theatre as the building is a scent free zone. Thank you for your cooperation.
This series is made possible thanks to our sponsors Century 21 (Kootenay Homes Ltd.,), HUB International Insurance, Pharmasave Trail, TECK Trail Operations and the support of our funders the BC Arts Council, BC Live Performance Network, and the Government of Canada. We also gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia.
Other shows in the Performing Arts Trail series this season:
RedSky Dance present Miigis: Underwater Panther Tuesday, November 3 at 7:30 pm. A contemporary Indigenous dance work inspired by the Great Migration of the Anishinaabe along ancient water routes from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. It brings to life themes of origin, memory, spirit beings, and the Seven Fire Prophecies through striking movement, music, and visual design.
Rémi Bolduc Band: Jazzy Christmas - Thursday, December 17 at 7:30 pm. Alto saxophone master Rémi Bolduc revisits the greatest Christmas tunes, both the classics and the lesser-known ones, adding his unique touch of blue for the delight of jazz lovers. Christmas + jazz = a perfect evening!
CaneFire: Caribbean Jazz - Wednesday, March 24 at 7:30 pm. Dynamic and intense CaneFire creates music fashioned out of a myriad of Caribbean and Latin traditions. Pianist and composer Jeremy Ledbetter brings together band members from Canada, Cuba and Trinidad for an original sound featuring the steelpan at the front of this latin jazz combo, alongside horns, drums, bass and sax.
Artsclub Theatre: Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women - Thursday, April 1 at 7:30 pm. This coming-of-age favourite invites audiences to rediscover one of the most cherished stories in literature with a fresh and inventive stage adaptation. Set in 19th-century New England, the play follows the four March sisters as they navigate love, loss, and the difficulties of young adulthood during the Civil War.
Symphony of the Kootenays: Mirrors of the Mind - Sunday, April 11 at 2 pm. Listen to music shaped by the human spirit in all its complexity as we explore the inner landscapes of great composers, from Beethoven’s luminous lyricism to the haunting stillness of Pärt, the passion of Schumann, the clarity of Britten, and the yearning beauty of Tchaikovsky.
