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Balfour Reparations

 
Mark Harding Review by Mark Harding 5 Published: 16 Aug 2025 Summerhall Show Dates: 13 Aug 2025-25 Aug 2025

I haven’t seen everything at this year’s Fringe, but this is probably the most important show on in Edinburgh right now. This is art as a genuine attempt to make a difference in the world.

A great strength of the work is that it overturns the sense that we are trapped by history.

There’s a lot of information about this event online, but I suggest going in with as little prior knowledge as possible. Although described as a “performance lecture”, the show is more of a process. To fully engage – to break from the usual gridlock of debate and thought – it’s best to attend without preconceptions.

The focus of the lecture element is on Lord Arthur James Balfour and his Scottish connections. This is Balfour of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 – the first official support for Zionism from a politically and militarily significant country.

The event combines text, archive research, film, expressive movement, audio effects and discussion. The performer and writer, Farah Saleh, is welcoming and engaging. Her humour is unexpectedly light-hearted, but she has the quiet authority of someone prepared to stand up and be counted.

The audience is drawn into the performance, and this is handled so well that by the conclusion, participation is both enthusiastic and deeply felt. This is far from an episode of Question Time; it’s an opportunity to contemplate, and to think afresh.

A great strength of the work is that it overturns the sense that we are trapped by history. Instead, we are shown that imagination can be used as the first step towards a new future.

It could be argued that the Reparations letter used to drive the show is simplistic. But the point of this work is to rethink what is possible – or impossible.

It could also be said that the complexities of history aren’t examined in depth. But that is for academics. This piece prompts present action, breaking away from the usual sterility of get-out clauses and ‘whatabouts’.

Whether the show’s impact will prove just a fleeting fantasy, I don’t know. But every change in the cultural and political weather starts off small.

I urge you to judge for yourself – go along to Summerhall and participate in Farah Saleh’s inspirational Reparations’ Evaluation Committee.

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The Blurb:

This performance lecture examines the UK's colonial legacy in Palestine, focusing on Arthur James Balfour, Prime Minister (1902-1905) and Foreign Secretary (1916-1919), and his role in denying Palestinian political rights. Utilising speculative choreography and Afrofuturism, Saleh intertwines history, fiction, and fantasy, drawing inspiration from archival materials. Set in 2045, the lecture reflects on a fictive apology letter issued by the UK in 2025, promising reparations to the Palestinian people. The audience become members of the reparations' evaluation committee created on the 20th anniversary of the apology and are invited to participate in the performance. MadeInScotlandShowcase.com