Character Breakdown

Sharp satirical, unconventional memoir about modern life from rising, non-conformist British star

‘Entertaining…revealing, shocking’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO

‘Sublime’ CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS

Actor and director Zawe Ashton brings us a unique look at life, work and the absurdities of today’s world

Zawe Ashton has been acting since she was six. She has played many different roles, from ‘cute little girl’ to ‘assassin with attitude’, Oscar Wilde’s Salome to St Trinian’s schoolgirl by way of Fresh Meat’s Vod.

In Character Breakdown, Zawe scrolls through a version of her life. Or is it a version of her art? Or something in between. In it, she encounters glamour, horror, absurdity and questions like- is a life spent more on performance than reality any life at all?

‘Smart, funny, vivid, honest, dark, timely’ The Times

‘A smart, funny and well-written take-down of modern showbiz’ Elizabeth Day, author of How To Fail

Selected by Bernardine Evaristo as one her 20 books by Black British Womxn Writers