A mysterious septuagenarian leads the way on a Middle East adventure

Photo: Kate Hockenhull photography

Daniel Nelson

Women Who Blow On Knots is an adaptation of journalist Ece Temelkuran’s novel (120,000 copies sold in her homeland, Turkey) about a road trip by four women amidst the turmoil of the Arab Spring.

It’s a strong topic made even stronger for me, weary as I am from watching endless TV footage of men in the “MIddle East” plotting, politicking and fighting, with not a woman in sight, except in Palestine, where women feature in the coverage - as grieving victims of war.

The quartet are an interesting group: a Turkish journalist, a Tunisian dancer (“What is a revolution if you can’t dance!”), an Egyptian academic, and the mysterious septuagenarian former spy Madama Lilla, who makes the trip possible for reasons that the play teasingly takes time to tell.

They all have pasts and secrets, passions and hopes; they smoke and talk frankly; they are modern women in traditional societies.

They come from and drive through fascinating countries experiencing interesting times - Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon.

So we’re all set for an intriguing, entertaining evening, where political commentary meets fairy tales, a sprinkling of magical realism, a touch of Arabian Nights, and some thoughtful lines: “There is no pure rebellion without self-sabotage.” And as actor Sara Diab says, “I have an Ehyptian background … Even being in this play I’ve learned so much about the Arab Spring.”)

For me, it didn’t quite work out like that, perhaps partly because I watched one of the first performances before it had properly bedded in. I was amused but slightly detached: a lot of words but not all sufficiently sharp, a fair amount of explanation, with some of the spirit and sparkiness of the book getting lost in the translation to the stage. Not quite enough witchcraft from the women who blow on knots.

+ Women Who Blow On Knots is at the Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, E8 3DL until 23 November. Info: https://www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on/women-who-blow-on-knots-