REVIEW: ArtsWest/Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble “Wish You Were Here” (6/13/26)

There was a lot to like about “Wish You Were Here” by Pulitzer-Prize-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi.

The Iranian Islamic Revolution is a subject that most American audiences are unfamiliar with, so it was fresh. Six upper-middle-class Iranian women and their lives before, during, and after the Islamic Revolution, one of whom was Jewish. The action spanned about thirty years and saw the resolution of events that, at the start, the characters felt would be transitory, and ended up being permanent. To this day, the government of Iran is an Islamic Republic and not a secular one.

“Wish You Were Here” has a first play feel. It is a wild upsurge of primal creativity in the Bildungsroman genre, the story of the author’s Coming of Age. Because it is so primal, it is also messy, both in its ideas and the dramaturgical execution. But the work of art is so charming and the talent of the budding playwright so immense that the audience is willing to overlook the minor pecadillos and sit in pleased admiration at the birth of what we hope will be a major new voice. For that reason, Thumbs Up!