---

As its name suggests, this show is a promise that seems impossible. And yet, it seems less difficult than the way Israel and Mohamed had to learn to negotiate with their parents. Both of them, nourished by spirituality and by cultures deeply rooted within each of them, took winding paths. And along these parallel journeys, Israel and Mohamed discover that they are far more alike than they would have thought almost like first cousins. They have gone through similar traditions in their families of origin, but also through their search for themselves through the body, and sometimes through the injuries of torn cruciate ligaments. They cobbled together what they could from that upbringing to become, after both having careers as footballers (at Betis Sevilla and at PSG), free and happy artists. Happy, of that we have no doubt. Free, yes but like 15-year-old boys, they still hide to smoke. They don’t tell their parents the whole truth, for fear of disappointing them at an age when one is normally freed from family conventions.

They do dance and theater, while Mohamed’s parents always wanted him to have a “real” profession, and Israel’s wanted him to dance like they did. Together, they will use this show to publicly tell their parents that they love them but that perhaps they would also like them, when their neighbors ask, “What does your son do?”, to tell the truth. Israel and Mohamed thus revisit their upbringing, their family archives, and the way they learned to devote themselves to art, with ever-present parents… They survived the family and now find themselves within the family of art. Learning to live, in short, a profession that never ends.

A heartfelt and tender show about identity, family, and the freedom to choose your own path.

Text by: Mohamed El Khatib / Israel Galván

Concept & performance: Israel Galván, Mohamed El Khatib

Set design & artistic collaboration: Fred Hocke

Sound design & technical direction: Pedro Leon

Costumes: Micol Notarianni

Video: Zacharie Dutertre

Production management: Rosario Gallardo, Gil Paon

Production: Zirlib & IGalván Company

Co-producers: Festival d’Avignon, Théâtre de la Ville de Paris, RomaEuropa Festival, Le Grand T, Théâtre de Loire-Atlantique, Le Volcan – scène nationale du Havre, TANDEM Scène nationale Arras-Douai, Teatro della Pergola Firenze

---