Balfour Reparations (2025-2045)

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A performance lecture by Palestinian dancer, choreographer and scholar, Farah Saleh, that invites you to explore and confront the United Kingdom’s colonial legacy in Palestine.

Through a blend of history, fiction, and fantasy, Saleh examines the role of Arthur James Balfour—former UK Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, and influential academic figure—in shaping policies that denied Palestinian political rights. Using elements of Critical Fabulation and Afrofuturism, this thought-provoking work brings archival materials—videos, photos, and documents—into dialogue with imagined futures.

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Join us in 2045, as a member of the Reparations Committee, reflecting on a fictive apology letter issued by the UK government in 2025, promising reparations to the Palestinian people. What does accountability look like? What might justice mean?

 

Step into the future and be part of the conversation.

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Upcoming performances

 

November 6 at MACBA part of Hacer Historia(s)(Barcelona)

November 16 at Dansens Hus part of Praxis Festivalen (Oslo)

December 6 at TEA part of Por Asalto Festival (Tenerife) 

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​Past performances

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December 2023 at InSpace Gallery (Edinburgh)

June 2024 at CCA part of Common Ground Festival (Glasgow)

​September 2024 at St Alfege Church (London)

November 2024 at Queens Park Baptist Church (Glasgow)

April 2025 at Edinburgh Futures Institute (Edinburgh)                  

May 2025 at Creatives of Colour Festival (Glasgow)                  © Lucas Chih-Peng Kao

June 2025 at The Studio Theatre pat of Festival of Migration (Edinburgh)

August 2025 at Summerhall Arts part of Made in Scotland Showcase (Edinburgh)

                                                                                            

 

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Creative Team

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Concept and choreography: Farah Saleh, in collaboration with 

Film & Sound Design: Lucas Chih-Peng 

Research: Nicola Perugini 

Dancers: Nadia Khattab and Jamal Bajali                               

Rehearsal support: Luke Pell

Graphic design: Michaela Pointon

Music: Kim Moore, Wasef Jawhariya

Creative Producer: Helen McIntosh 

Lighting Design: Emma Jones

PR Associate: Joy Parkinson

Production Manager: Fi Fraser 

 

 

Supported by IASH, Culture&, Made in Scotland, Scottish Government.

                                                                                                                                                        
Special thanks to:
Adam Perugini Saleh, Ben Fletcher-Watson, Emil Perugini Saleh, Emily Nicholl, Hannah Draper, Joy Parkinson, Lauren Galligan, Lesley McAra, Mira Knoche, Pauline Clark, Qais Saleh, Sawsan Shunnar, Sophia Lycouris and Stitches.