In 2020 Abi co-founded horror theatre company Terrifying Women with close friends Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Sampira Al-Fihri, with producer Amanda Castro joining the team in 2021.
Terrifying Women was formed to bring more horror based work by women to the stage; as huge horror fans Terrifying Women resolved to create and celebrate horror, with their own work but also to find and produce work by other women creatives both on and off stage.
In 2021 they produced their first show, Terrifying Women, at The Golden Goose Theatre in London. Running for three days with four shows and also via digital streaming, the show presented two short plays each written by Abi, Morgan and Sampira. It sold out and received great reviews.
In 2022 they produced their second show, Terrifying Women II: The Return!, also at The Golden Goose. This time it ran for four days with five shows, and, via a competition run in conjunction with a workshop facilitated with Stockroom, they selected three writers from anonymous pitches to share billing with new plays by Abi, Morgan and Sampira. The show sold out and again received great reviews.
In 2023 Terrifying Women co-produced a site specific trio of news plays in conjunction with Small Truth Theatre. Terrifying Women III: Caravan of Nightmares! was performed in the Small Truth Theatre vintage caravan situated on Portobello Road in Notting Hill. The performances were all free to attend and played to a sell-out crowd.
In 2024 Terrifying Women were invited to present three of their plays for a short run at Cambridge Junction Theatre. Terrifying Women VI: At Large! was the first time Terrifying Women were produced outside of London and again enjoyed sell-out shows.
Later in 2024 Terrifying Women produced their fifth show: Terrifying Women V: Gutted at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham to sell-out audiences with another trio of new plays.
More Terrifying Women work is coming soon…
Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/oct/19/terrifying-women-the-trio-of-horror-fiends-embracing-stage-fright
The Stage article: https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/terrifying-women-the-horror-fan-writers-putting-scary-stories-on-stage
ABI ZAKARIAN 