one4review | On 17, Aug 2026

Fadi Murad gives an emotional and mesmerising performance in Come Back Home, a deeply personal exploration of grief, memory and displacement.

Using a combination of video, music and spoken word, Murad takes us through the devastating experience of losing his mother at a very young age. His grief is palpable, and the scenes of him dealing with his mother’s death at such a young age are very emotional.

Palestine is never explicitly mentioned, yet its presence seems to hover over the piece . Alongside Murad’s mourning for his mother sits the implied grief caused by the conflict in his homeland, giving the title Come Back Home an added poignancy.

This is not necessarily an easy piece to understand. The narrative is deliberately fragmented, moving between images, memories, music and words without always providing an obvious connection. Yet that fragmentation increasingly feels essential to the piece as it reflects the fractured nature of memory and seems to accentuate the trauma Murad has carried since childhood.

Vulnerable without ever feeling self-indulgent, Murad draws the audience into an intensely private world. Come Back Home may be difficult to describe, but its emotional impact is undeniable. A haunting, tender and profoundly moving piece of theatre.

****
Reviewed by Rona

Summerhall Anatomy Lecture Theatre

1.15pm

Until 31st August (not 24th)