Shay Mace
Layla Warren is bringing her autobiographical solo show Long Way Home to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe next week, a story that follows her from Tehran to broadcast studios in Los Angeles, Layla looks to ask what must be sacrificed, reshaped or concealed in order to be seen. We caught up with her for a pixelated pint to find out more about why she’s decided to bring her story to the stage.
You can catch Long Way Home at Gilded Balloon Patter House (Snug) from 11:40 (60mins) on August 5 – 17, 19 – 31. Tickets are Available Through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Shay: Hi Layla, tell us about your story and why you have decided to bring this to the stage now?
Layla: Long Way Home came from an idea I’d carried with me for a long time, but it was my husband, Chris, who really encouraged me to create the show. Any time I’d tell him stories about my life, he’d just look at me and say, “Your life is insane! You have to turn this into something!”
I left Iran as a child, and like many people who have had to start over, I spent years trying to build a new life while quietly putting parts of my past away. Working in American television gave me opportunities I never imagined, but it also made me question how much of myself I was editing in order to belong. Over time, I realized that the stories we don’t tell have a way of finding us.
I also wrote this show before everything that happened with Iran this year. Since then, it feels like we’re living in a time where conversations about identity, displacement and belonging have become even more important.
Shay: How has the creative process been of putting the show together? Give us an idea of the journey you’ve been on with it so far.
Layla: It’s honestly been about eight years in the making. It actually started as a television pilot about my life while I was working in Los Angeles. I somehow managed to get a meeting with Ravi Nandan at A24, which was a huge opportunity. But on the day of the meeting, the writer I was collaborating with didn’t show up. It was super embarrassing, and the meeting completely unravelled.
As difficult as that moment was, it changed the direction of my career. I realized I couldn’t keep waiting for someone else to tell my story. So I enrolled in UCLA’s screenwriting programme and learned how to write myself. That experience gave me something much bigger than a script…it gave me my own voice. Long Way Home is the result of that journey, and it’s proof that sometimes the biggest setbacks end up pointing you towards exactly where you’re meant to be.
Shay: What will be the first thing the audience sees, feels, and hears as they enter the space?
Layla: I don’t want to give too much away because the opening is an important part of the experience. But I can say that the audience is invited straight into the world of the story… there’s no gentle introduction.
Shay: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?
Layla: Although the show explores some difficult experiences, it isn’t defined by them. It’s full of humour, warmth and a playfulness. I hope the audience is able to laugh, reflect and connect, often in the same moment…
Shay: What journey has the show been on to find itself at EdFringe 2026?
Layla: There have been moments where I’ve questioned whether I was ready to tell this story. I knew that if I was going to do it, I had to expose parts of myself that are very private and vulnerable. But I’m an all-or-nothing person, so I knew that was the only way I could tell it honestly…
I’ve also had incredible support around me. My partner, Chris, has been there from the beginning. The director of the show, Sepy Baghaei, is incredibly intuitive and just gets it, she’s an angel! and the team at Gilded Balloon have been such a joy to work with. Having that support has really put my mind at ease and made the journey to Edinburgh feel exciting!
Shay: With EdFringe now just around the corner, what are you most excited for?
Layla: I’m most excited to finally share the show with people! It’s lived in my mind for so, so long, and being able to bring it to life and share it with an Edinburgh audience feels really fulfilling.
The Fringe is such a unique place where stories from all over the world come together. So for a show about leaving one place, searching for another, and figuring out where you belong, Edinburgh feels like the right home for it.
Shay: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Layla: It would have to be a saffron, cardamom, rose and pomegranate mojito! Those are all flavours and scents that remind me of my homeland and bring me straight back to Iran. And the mojito part is very me because I rarely drink…maybe once every other year for a special occasion and when I do, it’s always a mojito!
A reminder, you can catch Long Way Home at Gilded Balloon Patter House (Snug) from 11:40 (60mins) on August 5 – 17, 19 – 31. Tickets are Available Through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Ross Allen
Alex Van Ric
