Who is little Amal who walks around the globe in search of her mother

Amal, a young girl, is on her way to find her mother. The nine-year-old Syrian refugee from Aleppo will walk from Syria’s border with Turkey to the United Kingdom in search of her displaced family. Each village, town, and the city she visits along the way will host a variety of events, ranging from performances to art installations.

Amal may be a 3.5-metre-tall puppet created by the Handspring Puppet Company in Cape Town, South Africa, but her story is based on the true stories of countless young refugees and children torn from their homes and separated from their families, not just in Turkey and Europe, but all over the world.

The Walk, as this production is known, is a travelling festival of art and hope, produced by UK-based Good Chance Theatre in collaboration with Handspring Puppet Company and presented by its producers, Stephen Daldry, David Lan, and Tracey Seaward. Little Amal is based on a character from Good Chance’s first production, The Jungle, which is about a migrant camp in Calais. Theatre writer and director Amir Nizar Zuabi joined the project as artistic director in 2020, developing the hundreds of international collaborations across the route

Amal stands 3.5 metres tall, making her appear taller than the average nine-year-old. Over the course of two years of workshops and testing, the Handspring Puppet Company developed and crafted the protagonist’s physical form.  “She is made from robust, lightweight material like molded cane and carbon fiber, to achieve a puppet that can be operated for long periods of time in varying conditions, to withstand rain and heat,” says the team at Good Chance, sharing information both over email and a recently-held video call from the UK. There are three puppet Animals in total, just in case a replacement is needed. She’ll be accompanied by a troupe of puppeteers and technicians who will keep an eye on her as she walks.

Amal’s epic journey starts on July 27 in Gaziantep, where an outdoor light installation featuring qandeel lanterns illuminates a path for her to follow one by one. Around 250 partners and artists will be involved in the 8,000-kilometer journey, which will end in Manchester in November.