Wish You Were Here

By Sanaz Toossi
Originally Produced at Playwrights Horizons, New York, NY
Dates TBA



It’s 1978 and protests are breaking out all across Iran, encroaching on this suburb where a tight-knit circle of friends plan weddings, trade dirty jokes, and struggle to uphold a sense of normalcy. But as the revolution escalates, each woman is forced either to join the wave of emigration or face an equally uncertain future at home. With breathtaking humanity and cutting wit, Wish You Were Here chronicles a decade of life during war, as best friends forever become friends long lost, scattered, and searching for home.

Artistic Statement: Sanaz Toossi’s writing is uncannily perceptive, leaping off the page with its contagious charm and rich nuance, examining every high-stakes inch of the friendships among these five women as they play out. Toossi charts the very real impact of the revolution on each of their lives. These ebullient and rowdy women ride a beautifully understated progression of scenes that ultimately tells the story of their community, and their country, unraveling, as one by one they leave Iran to build new lives elsewhere. A host of forces tears them apart, creating a tale of diaspora in reverse, a diaspora through the eyes of those left behind. Wish You Were Here is a searingly human tale of life during wartime, and Toossi’s is an undeniable new voice to emerge in the new plays landscape. - Adam Greenfield, Artistic Director



Grant Statement: The success of Wish You Were Here onstage relies on the audience’s belief in the enduring, close friendship between these women. An extra week of rehearsal is crucial to helping our actors forge those connections and develop a closeness. It will also help our entire creative team to ease back into the creative process following the pandemic; for some of them, this will be the first live production they have worked on in nearly two years. We are grateful to the Edgerton Foundation for supporting this extra rehearsal time and ensuring the best possible world premiere production. - Adam Greenfield, Artistic Director



Co-Produced with Williamstown Theatre Festival

Director: Gaye Taylor Upchurch