The Return play

When God decrees that all martyrs will return, a grieving father in Gaza waits beneath the clouds for his daughters to come home in a world of magical realism.

Will the martyrs return? What if they do?

Marwan, a Palestinian father in Gaza, waits for his martyred daughters to return believing that God has issued a decree for all martyrs to return through the clouds, and Marwan, a man of faith, waits beneath the clouds for God's promise to be fulfilled.

In a very surreal world, where families embrace loved ones descending from the sky, Marwan waits for Rozan and Nagham. When Rozan finally returns, radiant and transformed, she takes her father on a journey between this world and the afterlife, where everything belongs to a different logic, memory lives, and the unseen is closer than the seen.

Together they move between dream and reality. She takes him into a surreal journey in an attempt to heal his broken heart. Along the way, Marwan is forced to wrestle with pain, faith and the impossible question of how a wounded heart continues to live after losing the meaning of life.

Blending magical realism with spiritual reflection, "The Return" is a haunting and poetic theatrical work by award-winning writer-director Ala’a Al Qaisi. Inspired by the true story of Marwan Abu Samra and his daughters Rozan and Nagham who were murdered by the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and shaped by the idea of Return to God, the play takes you into a spiritual awakening experience exploring the enduring bond between the living and the dead.

The Greek Theatre at Addi Road

Building 36/142 Addison Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204, Marrickville 2204 (Wangal/Gadigal Country)
Telephone: +61413989007

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