Women Who Blow On Knots

by Ece Temelkuran
in a new adaptation by Leyla Nazli

Directed by Lerzan Pamir

Arcola co-founder Leyla Nazli adapts Ece Temelkuran’s bestselling novel: an epic tale of empowerment and adventure.

Three women meet by chance in a Tunis hotel in the first months of the Arab Spring. Striving for freedom and acceptance, but harbouring secrets of their own, they embark on a fantastical journey to Lebanon with the mysterious Madam Lilla.

Against a backdrop of social, political and religious uncertainty, the women begin to trust each other and a newfound unity grows. But can they surrender themselves fully as they travel deeper into the desert and belief in their enigmatic guide begins to waver?

A revolutionary road trip and love story, Women Who Blow on Knots is a refreshing and darkly comic exploration of sisterhood and belonging in the Middle East.

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Ece Temelkuran is a Turkish journalist and political commentator, and author of How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship. Her novel Women Who Blow On Knots is a phenomenon in Turkey, with more than 120,000 copies sold.

Leyla Nazli’s previous work at Arcola: Mare Rider (2013); Silver Birch House (2007). Leyla is Executive Producer and co-founder of Arcola Theatre.

Lerzan Pamir’s previous work at Arcola: Dark Vanilla Jungle (2015); When the Bulbul Stopped Singing (2013).