Photo : Andres Carnalla
AYOUB • Performance by Marina Otero & Ibrahim Ibnou Goush
What begins as a seemingly romantic journey to Morocco quickly unravels into a raw and challenging exploration of privilege and power. By weaving her personal narrative with the broader complexities of systemic violence, the artist delivers an uncompromising piece of autofiction. Expect a performance that pulls no punches and lingers long after the lights go down.
La Maison des Métallos (Paris 11th)
About
La Maison des Métallos hosts AYOUB, a powerful performance by Marina Otero and Ibrahim Ibnou Goush running from May 26 to May 29, 2027. This production transforms a personal journey to Tangier into a sharp political critique, bridging intimate history with the tragedy of Gaza and the legacy of colonialism. Suitable for audiences aged 16 and up, the play is performed in Spanish and Darija, with French and English surtitles provided. The venue is fully wheelchair accessible and equipped to welcome blind or visually impaired spectators, ensuring a professional and inclusive experience for all attendees.
From a romantic encounter to thwarted love, the Argentine artist examines colonialism, guilt, and the need to question what lives within her: her Westernized gaze, her illusions of reparation, and her thirst to save the other.
Everything begins with a project of mutual rescue. Confronted with loneliness, Marina Otero undertakes a journey to Tangier with the idea of rescuing a man by marrying him, giving him papers and a life in Europe. From this story, she aspires to create a work of autofiction; but her meeting with Ayoub turns everything upside down. The abstract idea of a project of mutual salvation shatters upon contact with reality, giving way to a performance where personal history is coupled with a radical social denunciation.
Marina Otero chooses to name her performance AYOUB, a very common name in the Islamic world borne by hundreds of children killed by the Zionist state of Israel in Gaza. AYOUB thus becomes the symbol of a reality marked by violence and suffering in Palestine, establishing a parallel between personal history and collective tragedy.
Marina Otero recounts a thwarted love story in Tangier struck by Gaza, colonialism, and what a name can carry. Alongside Ibrahim Ibnou Goush, the Argentine artist based in Madrid composes her most political work, without renouncing the shamelessness that defines her. Masterful.
Guillaume Lasserre, Le Club de MediapartAround the performance
Surveying "The Upside-Down World" by Emilia Roig (WED. MAY 26, 2027｜6:30 PM—9:30 PM)In partnership with Peuple & Culture
Duration 3h
Price 8€
Booking recommended
La Maison des Métallos, in partnership with Peuple & Culture, invites you to a surveying workshop around the book The Upside-Down World: Undoing Dominations, Rethinking Justice by Emilia Roig.
Drawing on her own experience, Emilia Roig examines how different forms of oppression materialize in our lives and how they intersect and reinforce one another. Relying on the work of Bell Hooks, Gayatri Spivak, or Boaventura de Sousa Santos, she analyzes discrimination through individual, institutional, structural, and historical dimensions.
After exposing the various intersections of racism and discrimination in all layers of society, she identifies cornerstones to end oppressions, insisting in particular on the need for greater empathy towards one another.
Surveying is a method of discovery of a work as a group. It is recommended not to read the book beforehand! The Métallos team will bring a copy, cold drinks, and treats for a convivial moment of sharing.
Exchange with the artistic team after the performance.
Our take on this event
AYOUB is a radical piece of autofiction created by Madrid-based artist Marina Otero alongside Ibrahim Ibnou Goush. The narrative follows Otero’s initial project to rescue a man in Tangier by marrying him, an abstract idea that shatters upon contact with reality. By naming the work after Ayoub, a symbol for children lost to violence in Gaza, Otero creates a profound parallel between her personal history and collective trauma.
Performances are scheduled at La Maison des Métallos from May 26 to May 29, 2027. The show runs from 19:00 to 20:10 on Thursday, and from 20:00 to 21:10 on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Tickets are available at 25€ for full price, with reduced rates of 15€ and 10€. On Thursday, May 27, spectators are invited to a post-show talk to discuss the work with the creative team.
Furthermore, a collaborative reading workshop based on Emilia Roig’s book L'envers du monde will take place on Wednesday, May 26, from 18:30 to 21:30 in partnership with Peuple & Culture. This session is priced at 8€, and booking is recommended to join this collective exploration of social justice.
