We chatted to Zazi about ‘They Weave With String That Suffocates’, playing at the Bread and Roses Theatre from the 1st to the 5th December.
Hi Zazi, what can you tell us about your show?
Hello! My show, They Weave with String that Suffocates, is a brand new theatrical epic that spans 30 years of Greek mythology in less than 90 minutes. It reimagines the complex and interwoven stories of six women from Greek mythology as told by the three Fates. One day the Fates discover six inexplicably blue strings amongst their sea of red thread, and they’ll have to weave a new story if they ever want to find an answer. Amidst betrayal, murder, and revenge, these women must confront their destinies and make a stand. While the Fates desperately seek the answer to the blue strings, the six women sink to the depths of grief, sorrow, and rage. Will the string that connects them all strangle them in the end?
An homage to female rage, the three performers are connected at the wrists with long pieces of string – a physicalisation of the restrictions women face – and we watch as they tangle and untangle in a surreal ballet around them.
Through this show, I’m attempting to revolutionise the way theatre makers reimagine and retell Ancient Greek myths in order to engage the next generation of classicists and to offer these timeless stories to a new audience. Through surreal lighting, innovative movement, and striking visuals, the contentious autonomy and rage of women from the ancient world to today explodes in this ambitious new work.
How did the idea behind ‘They Weave With Strong That Suffocates’ come about?
It started as a one act called The Women of the House of Atreus that I created for my creative project in the first year of my master’s degree at the University of East London in February 2024. Whereas They Weave with String that Suffocatesc reimagines the lives of six women, namely Klytemnestra, Helen, Iphigenia, Khrysothemis, Elektra, and Kassandra, The Women of the House of Atreus conly focused on Klytemnestra, Elektra, and Kassandra. The Fates were also missing from this version of the show, making it a rather confusing and muddled narrative.
However, the idea of the string connecting the performers was something that started with this version. I had the idea because one of my classmates had directed a scene where her actors sat in the middle of a big yarn puddle on the floor. The striking visual of that scene was in my head when I thought through the logistics of TWOTHOA. I had this image of the three characters pushing and pulling each other throughout the story, and that idea combined with the visual of the yarn gave birth to my actors being physically connected by string.
During the second year of my master’s degree, I decided to rework the show completely. I added the Fates as a framing device as well as added the character pieces for each of the six tragic women to help clarify the narrative. I also inserted Helen, Iphigenia, and Khrysothemis into the main storyline since they felt just as much a part of the story as the original three tragic women.
Finally, after much brainstorming and many configurations, I retitled the piece to They Weave with String that Suffocates to capture the essence and themes of the new piece of theatre. We performed a version that ran for an hour and forty minutes in July 2025 as my final creative project for my master’s, and did another sixty minute version in October 2025 as part of the Lambeth Fringe Festival. Both of these versions taught me so much about the narrative, characters, and movement while also teaching me about producing my own show in the London fringe scene. Through those two versions, I was able to experiment with the structure, character arcs, script length, and design choices without too much pressure. Now, I feel as though I have a firm grasp on what I want the show to be and how I want to create it.
What has it been like watching the show develop?
It has honestly been a dream come true. That’s not to say it’s been easy, as it’s actually been very challenging, but creating theatre not just as a director, but as a writer, producer, and sometimes designer is everything I could have ever wished for. I’ve also been blessed with the most amazing teams that have brought this show to life like I could never have imagined. My first group of actors, Francesca Redighieri, Adriana Gajtani, and Linda Fernandes, were key in my process of figuring out the script and characters, as their choices helped define and solidify a lot of my ideas. They were with me from TWOTHOA run in July 2024 through the Lambeth Fringe run in October 2025, and thus saw the genesis and growth of the show firsthand.
My current actors, Kaira Rodgers, Julia Tidmas Goodall, and Sara Childrey, have been vital in the finalisation process of the script. Coming at the show with fresh eyes and minds, their questions and challenges sculpted the script and narrative into a more grounded and truthful piece. Whereas I’m too close to the script to know really what’s necessary and what’s superfluous, they’re at the perfect distance to make that distinction for me. We also brought in a choreographer, Romilly Winchester, and a lighting designer, Mimi Browne, for the first time, and they’re contributions have been mind-opening and explosive in the development of the show.
And finally, I would be remiss to not mention my amazing assistant director and now sound designer, May Jolly, who has been with the piece since the July 2025 run and remains our biggest cheerleader today. She has been key to the process through her notes, amazing sound design, and committed attitude. I know I can always count on her to tell me what’s working and what’s NOT working! All in all, this show has brought the most amazing people into my life, and has challenged me as a theatemaker, person, and friend. I’m so grateful to have grown alongside this piece over the last 2 years, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next!
How does it feel to be bringing to be presenting the show at the Bread & Roses Theatre?
I hate to keep saying it, but it’s genuinely a dream come true. The Bread & Roses Theatre is a hallmark theatre in the London fringe scene, and always has exciting and fresh theatre in its walls. The fact that they’re taking a chance on a small group of theatremakers like us is mind-blowing to me, and I am just so so so grateful for them. I love how accessible they make theatremaking as a venue who does box office splits instead of upfront deposits, and they have the nicest team ever! Words fail to express how thankful and excited I am to be bringing TWWSTS to the Bread & Roses Theatre.
What do you enjoy the most about creating theatre?
What I enjoy most about creating theatre is the community that inevitably springs from doing a show. The people you meet and work with are often the nicest and most amazing people ever. That’s not to say that there are no bad apples, because believe me I’ve worked with my fair share of bad apples, but to say that most people who do theatre do it for the love of the game, and those people are the ones you want to surround yourself with. As I’ve said, I’ve been very lucky with the people I’ve worked with on this show in the past and now, and I’m eternally grateful to each and every single one of them for showing me friendship, teaching me lessons, and making some damn good theatre with me! And while yes it is very satisfying and amazing to see my words on the page come to life on the stage and to see the phenomenal sets and lights, it’s even more satisfying and amazing to know that I have a great team of people next to me.
To book tickets for the show visit: https://app.lineupnow.com/event/they-weave-with-string-that-suffocates-1