YARN Residency 2026 - Morocco

Moroccan Residencies – Storytellers Union
Our Arts Council supported international residencies continue to build on the strong creative relationships developed through our collaborations with Morocco over the past three years. We are delighted to welcome back Zouhair Khaznaoui, who continues his collaboration with Eimear Burke for a second year. Together they will present a documentary screening and discussion at Mermaid Arts Centre, the culmination of two years of shared research, artistic exchange and storytelling across cultures (Invisible Threads see page 22).

Moroccan Residencies – World Storytelling Café
We are also very pleased to welcome Lalla Fatima Ait Abderrahman as Artist in Residence representing the World Storytelling Café in Marrakech. A highly respected storyteller and performer from Morocco, Fatima brings a rich oral storytelling tradition to YARN and will collaborate during the festival with fellow Artist in Residence, Órla Mc Govern, one of Ireland’s most acclaimed storytellers and theatre-makers. As part of this residency exchange, Órla will travel to Morocco in January 2027 as YARN Storyteller in Residence at the World Storytelling Café during the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival,

Eimear Burke

Eimear is a Druid and a Storyteller. She has a deep love of the ancient Irish tales and has a passion for storytelling. She brings the old tales to new audiences, and - while remaining faithful to the stories - often examines them from new perspectives, so that listeners experience them as fresh and relevant. She loves to weave in song and the harp into her stories. She particularly enjoys showing people the sacred sites of Ireland and telling the ancient tales right where they happened.Eimear has private practice as a Counselling Psychologist and her interests in Druidry and psychology have led her to act as a Celebrant, helping people to design and enact meaningful rites of passage. She is licensed to perform legal weddings in the Republic of Ireland and can also offer non legal ceremonies. She weaves ancient tales into her ceremonies.Eimear is the Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) and lives in Kilkenny, Ireland. She is also a Priestess dedicated to Danú in the Fellowship of Isis. She is an Arch Druidess in the Druid Clan of Dana and a member of the Noble Order of Tara.

Zouhair Khaznaoui

Zouhair Khaznaoui is an accomplished Storytelling artist whose unwavering passion for the rich and diverse cultural traditions of Morocco has been the driving force behind his illustrious career. With a deep appreciation for the art of oral storytelling, Zouhair has been trained and initiated by renowned Maalems (masters) of storytelling in Morocco such as Haj Ahmed Ezzarghani, Abderrahim AL-Azzalia, and Mohamed Bariz.

Drawing from his extensive training and exposure to a wide range of artists and scholars from around the world, including Moulay Jaafar El Kansoussi, John Row, Baba-C, Sef Townsend, and Raymond de la Fontaine, Zouhair has developed a unique and authentic style that reflects his profound understanding of the universal appeal of storytelling.

In addition to his artistic pursuits, Zouhair’s academic background in English Literature and Cultural Studies, Graduating from The Technical University of Dresden, Germany, has provided him with a solid foundation for his interest in storytelling. As an international student, he was able to travel and study abroad, gaining exposure to a diverse range of artistic perspectives and experiences. In 2022 Zouhair Khaznaoui Co-founded and Directed the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival and presided over the Storytellers Union for Cultural Innovation and Art of Storytelling.

In mid 2023 Zouhair Khaznaoui established the very first storytelling school in the Arab world and Africa under the name International Storytelling School of Marrakech: The latter is a gateway for young and passionate individuals to become professional storytellers.

Currently Zouhair Khaznaoui runs a year-long storytelling Odyssey: Tales Across Borders. The project is a celebration of the storytelling art in Marrakech as a capital city of culture for the Muslim world.

Órla McGovern

Órla Mc Govern is a Storyteller, Writer, Performer and Facilitator living in Galway, Ireland. An award-winning storyteller who has performed at the Cape Clear Festival, Yarn Festival at Mermaid Arts, World Storytelling Café, Electric Picnic and numerous other venues and events, Órla is also the artistic director of ‘Moth & Butterfly’ a storytelling and improvisation collective based in the West of Ireland.

Órla’s plays have been produced in Ireland and the US and produced at: First Irish Festival, New York, Key City Theatre, Washington, Fregoli Theatre, Galway (Cúirt at Mick Lally Theatre), Red Barn Thomastown, Martello Media/Alive-O (for Guinness storehouse), The Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Farmleigh Dublin, Brigit’s Garden Galway, and more. Órla has also written several short films, produced in Ireland, and also works as an actor for TV, Radio and Film.

Órla is a master level performer and facilitator of improvisational theatre, and regularly teaches and performs in festivals around the world. She has performed with Spolin Players, The Edge Improv, Carlotta’s Late Night Wing Ding, The Seattle Neutrino Project, Seattle Goga, and at Improv Fest Ireland, Barcelona Improv Festival, Finland International Improv Festival, Theatre de L’Oignon, Strasbourg, France, Improfest Sweden, Improv Brussels, IMPRO Romania, Improdrom, Poland, and many more. Órla also teaches Improvisational Theatre in both Corporate and Arts settings, and has facilitated workshops for Google, LinkedIn, Bellevue College, Cork Institute of Technology, The Blue Teapot Theatre Company, Galway, Galway Actors’ Workshop, Galway Theatre Festival, as well as for many schools and classes across Ireland. Órla is the Artistic Director of The Spontaneous Theatre People and The Sky Babies Improv Troupe, and was co-director of Improv Fest Ireland for many years.

Lalla Fatima Ait Abderrahman

Lalla Fatima Ait Abderrahman is an English language teacher working with children and teenagers in Marrakech, and storytelling has become an important part of the way she teaches. She uses stories not only to help students develop their English, but also to encourage their imagination, curiosity and creativity, and to open conversations about choices, consequences, respect for others and the lessons we can carry with us through life. Lalla Fatima believes that bringing stories into the classroom gives language learning a different flavor: it brings joy, breaks the routine of teaching, and helps children connect with the language in a more natural and meaningful way.

Lalla Fatima Ait Abderrahman is also a storyteller with the World Storytelling Café in Marrakech, and is delighted to be joining YARN as its representative through the international residency programme. Her connection with the storytelling world grew through involvement with Al Muniya Marrakech Association, which works to preserve and revitalise Marrakech’s storytelling heritage and support storytellers. Through the association, she discovered the first international storytelling festival in Marrakech, where she volunteered to help translate some of the performances.

This experience also inspired Lalla Fatima to develop the idea of inviting English-speaking storytellers to perform for children in Marrakech schools and educational institutions. She wanted our pupils to discover other cultures through stories, hear English spoken by native speakers, and experience the language beyond the traditional classroom — creating opportunities to learn, share, discover one another, and build bridges of peace and friendship.

Lalla Fatima is deeply interested in Morocco’s intangible oral heritage and in finding ways to keep it alive by passing it on to younger generations. She believes that schools can play an important role in this continuity. Perhaps one day, some of the children who listen to these stories will themselves become Moroccan storytellers, carrying their heritage beyond Morocco and sharing it with audiences elsewhere. For Lalla Fatima, storytelling is a meeting place: whether the storyteller comes from Morocco, Ireland, Britain, America or elsewhere, what brings people together is the story — and, in this case, the English language through which people can meet and discover one another.