The British soldiers entered the house in the afternoon, about 4pm. My mother-in-law asked the soldiers, “Shall we get you some geese?,” but they replied “Zig zig.”

Almost one hundred years ago, during the British occupation of Egypt, a small village near Giza called Nazlat al-Shobak was violently raided by British soldiers.

A military court was convened to investigate the villagers’ allegations that the army had looted and burned Nazlat al-Shobak, terrorized its residents and executed five village notables. Amongst the witnesses called to give evidence were a dozen women who had been raped by British soldiers.

Over the next few months, the nationalist movement took up these women’s stories in their slogans and pamphlets. Yet they were quickly swept aside by the political discourse of independence, and before long, history had forgotten them entirely.

Zig Zig is a theatre performance that takes as a starting point the transcripts of the Nazlat al-Shobak investigation. In the absence of Egyptian sources documenting the incident, it was in the British Foreign Office archives that these and other materials relating to the revolution of 1919 were found.

The performance brings this historical moment to life, re-examining the rape testimonies of the inspiring and courageous Egyptian women who braved humiliation in the courts of the military occupier to tell the truth about the atrocities committed by its soldiers.

Five performers draw links on stage between this historical material, their personal experiences and today’s rape culture, wondering why women’s narratives of rape are so often silenced, disbelieved and belittled, and asking: how much has really changed?