A Study in Thread by Arada Böhm and Laura Faiß offers a new meaning to women’s craftsmanship, and challenges societal views on gender stereotypes. The piece premiered on 22 May and ran until 25 May 2025 at Brotfabrik.
Red yarn entangled Arada Böhm and Laura Faiß like a spider’s web, though they remained on opposite sides of the stage. Both seemed to be in a trance as what sounded like someone rifling through a drawer of knitting needles filled the room. Faiß sat on the left side of the stage, intently rolling the yarn that hung around them into a ball, while Böhm stood on the right creating tension with the thread she could grasp while moving her arms forwards like windmills. A recording of a woman’s voice asked the audience to think back to their childhoods, about an article of clothing they loved but needed fixing because of loose threads, a hole, or other wear and tear. To think about the love and care that went into the mending of their clothes, often by a mother figure. During this text, it was stated that domestic handcrafts have long been considered “women’s work”, and in less progressive societies, there is a narrative that a woman’s place is at home, tending to her family, or anyone else’s needs besides her own. The spoken words seemed to awaken something in Böhm, as suddenly her arms started moving faster, a possible attempt to break free from their confinement; yet she remained stationary. Meanwhile, Faiß kept working on rolling the yarn back into a ball until slowly the thread no longer decorated the space, freeing them both.
A cover of Madonna’s “Material Girl”started to play as the two performers began to travel around the stage. Faiß seemed enchanted by the ball of yarn she had just finished rolling, sometimes holding it up high as if in admiration. The duet was a tug of war between playful and aggressive: Böhm didn’t seem as enamoured by the yarn and tried repeatedly, though unsuccessfully, to snatch it from Faiß. Their sentiments seemed reversed in another scene as Daft Punk’s “Around the World” blasted through the speakers. Faiß sat in the center of the stage, emptily staring at the audience, as Böhm happily danced in a circle around her while wrapping her with yarn.
In what sounded like a virtual assistant’s voice, instructions for “how to knit your first project” introduced a set series of movements. Giving a movement to each word, the two brought the instructions to life, such as stepping on the left then the right foot exactly as it was spoken. Once they were done, they would do a circular motion with one pointer finger and their hips before repeating everything from the beginning, like starting a new row when knitting. The Siri-like voice started to glitch, and so did the dancers’ movements, no longer able to conform to what was being asked of them.
Böhm left the stage, returning with a crocheted scarf in progress that she began to work on while Faiß hovered over her intimidatingly. Eventually, Böhm gave the project to Faiß, a representation of the way these “women’s” skills are often passed down from generation to generation. Throughout the piece, many different balls of yarn were brought on stage, and by the end, the threads started to knot together. In the last scene, the two performers danced solos alternatingly, a freer version of the set of ‘first knitting project steps’ choreography. Each wore the knot of yarn like armour while dancing, and when they passed it on, the other was open to receive it, no longer as a symbol of labour, but of its emancipation. Empowered, the two redecorated the stage with the entangled yarn, letting the weight of its meaning hang in the air after their exit, leaving us with a reminder of the past—and a sense of hope about what’s to come.
A Study in Thread by Arada Böhm and Laura Faiß premiered on 22 May and ran until 25 May 2025 at Brotfabrik.
