Zazi the Artist brings her show They Weave With String That Suffocates to the Lambeth Fringe next month.
“Clotho. Lachesis. Atropos. The Spinner. The Allotter. The End. The Fates observe, the Fates judge, but the Fates never act. Until now.
When six blue strings inexplicably appear amongst their sea of red thread, the Fates must weave a new story if they ever want to find an answer. / Klytemnestra. Helen. Kassandra. Iphigenia. Khrysothemis. Elektra.
Six women connected through family, war, and a curse. Six women bound by the strings of Fate and wrenched by the whims of man. Six women faced with one question: Is my life my own?”
Where: The Glitch
When: 12-13 Oct
Ticket link: https://lambethfringe.com/events/they-weave-with-string-that-suffocates
What inspired the creation of They Weave With String That Suffocates, and what made you choose the six women depicted?
I have my BA in Classical Civilizations with a focus on ancient Greek literature and drama, so when it came time to pick a topic for my first year dissertation performance for my MFA programme, I knew I wanted to do something with Greek tragedy.
I initially chose only three women to focus on – namely Klytemnestra, Kassandra, and Elektra – because of the book Elektra by Jennifer Saint, which focused on the stories of those three women. I fell in love with her version of the myth, and wanted to try my hand at their stories.
After our initial performance, titled The Women of the House of Atreus, it became clear to me that there were three other women who played integral roles in the myth: Helen, Iphigenia, and Khrysothemis. That’s when I decided to have six tragic women instead of only three.
This is also when I decided to add the Fates in as a framing device in order to clarify some narrative choices I found were a bit muddled in the original version.
The idea to have the three performers connected by long pieces of string was one of the first I came up with and has been a core part of the show since the beginning.
The idea came from a desire to literalize the intertwining nature of the women’s stories as well as the restraints women face every day.
Why should audiences come along to the show, and what might they expect?
Audiences should come to the show because it’s dynamic, innovative, and will have you swept up in a whirlwind of female rage, Greek mythology, and the Fates!
Audiences can expect lyrical dialogue, unusual movements and visuals, and a surreal blend of times and places. It’s a unique performance that’ll leave audiences feeling reflective, empowered, and moved.
But hey, what do I know? Come watch and see for yourself!
Do you find fringe festivals inspiring?
I do find fringe festivals to be very inspiring! It’s so nice to be part of a community of artists working towards a common goal of creating new and challenging theatre.
It’s also such a supportive environment to be a part of, because everyone is really rooting for everyone to succeed so that the festival as a whole can succeed.
It’s genuinely so empowering and inspiring to be a part of!
What’s next for the show?
This will be our second run this year, so the plan for the rest of 2025 is to rest and recuperate.
The show is going to go back to the drawing board for the next version of the script to be written and completed by early 2026.
Then the plan is to rehearse and perform for the rest of 2026 with a new and improved version of the show!
I have an amazingly dedicated cast and crew, and feel so lucky to be able to plan into the future with such a wonderful team.
This is definitely not the end of They Weave with String that Suffocates! Follow us on our Instagram – @theyweave.theshow for all of the updates 🙂