Come To Where I Am at Shedinburgh Review
Come to Where I Am is a collaboration between two of my personal favourite companies - Paines Plough and Shedinburgh. The concept of the one off, one hour show, is to present four monologues based on the theme of home, belonging, and dislocation, with a focus on Scottish stories and storytellers.
There were four pieces presented:
Firstly, The Things I Do Not Say, written and performed by Hannah Lavery. The story follows Hannah speaking about her place in society as a woman of colour in Edinburgh during the race riots. However, the performer was not mic-ed and my specific seat on the side, next to the air con, made it difficult to hear the story. Unfortunately, this has made it difficult to fully review Lavery’s piece.
Second up was Where I’m From is Invisible by Linda McLean and performed by Mary Gapinski. Following a woman talking about her son’s pain and recovery after having meningitis as a child. Gapinski was wonderfully connected with the audience and is a naturally gifted storyteller. Although a successful monologue, the piece didn’t fit with the theme as strongly as the other pieces.
Third, and my favourite of the four pieces was entitled Crowbar and was brilliantly performed by Israela Efomi and written by Uma Nada-Rajah. The piece explored a future in 2031 where race riots have broken out in Glasgow. Efomi’s performance was embodied and fierce, full of magnetism and strength - a standout performance this fringe.
The final performance was a nostalgic walk through of Glasgow entitled Come To Where I’m From performed by Martin Donaghy and written by Gary McNair. With vibes of Trainspotting, the monologue was encapsulating and funny – Donaghy taking us through every twist and turn of his walk being a ‘nice man’, the expectations he has of himself, and how he can be a good representation of his hometown to the people he encounters.
Overall, the project’s concept was really enjoyable and lovely to have a nod to Scottish culture, its unique history, and those living within it. However, the pieces could have been stronger connected to the theme and explored a wider variety of stories - perhaps including more shorter pieces as opposed to four fifteen-minute ones. This is the sort of work you want to see at Fringe, a little exploratory, but rooted in truth - educating those not from Scotland about those who live and breathe the landscape when not there for the Fringe.
Come to Where I Am was playing as a one-off event at Shedinburgh on the 11th August 2026. The project is a continuation of Come to Where I Am From which was the original production over Zoom during Lockdown – this production featured the final two pieces presented, Crowbar and Come to Where I Am From.
★★★
Written by Eloise for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.
