How do you say "Kom Terug"? - Hannah Zaouad

I am going on a trip and I am taking with me: myself. Most people like to travel, but what does your presence mean in the landscape you visit? What is its impact on the local population? How do you go on a trip to the land of your ancestors? The poetic documentary theater performance ‘How do you say “come back”?’ explores the tourism industry in the Rif region in Morocco, a transit zone between Europe and Africa. The area is on one hand deeply marked by the migration to Europe in the 1960s. On the other hand, the tourism industry is flourishing there today, fueled by the ‘return’ of children of labor migrants from back then. ‘How do you say “come back”?’ goes in search of what we have lost, what we are losing, and what we are fighting to win back through the lens of tourism, migration, and language. Who has the right to land that should not be property? Hannah Zaouad is a theater maker, word artist, dramaturg, and documentary maker. They often work around themes of labor, migration, intergenerational memory, and urban transformation. For example, they were co-organizer of ‘We Buildt This Festival’ (2023–2024), a nomadic culture festival that highlights the often invisible contribution of migration. In the poetic documentary ‘Gent:Rificatie’ (2024), Zaouad gives voice to the changes in their hometown. In their work, personal history is never merely autobiographical but part of a larger collective story. Zaouad invites people to see connections: between past and present and especially between individual lives and structural systems. The pitch for ‘How do you say “come back?” won the Roel Verniers Prijs 2025. Schouwburg Kortrijk is a proud UiTPAS partner. Save UiTPAS points during the performance. Are you entitled to a ticket at an increased allowance? Keep your UiTPAS at hand and book your ticket online or by phone at 056 23 98 55. You can also visit our ticket counter. Be sure to bring your UiTPAS with you.