The Walk

July to November 2021 One little girl. One BIG hope.

Little Amal, a young refugee, embarks on a remarkable journey – an epic voyage that will take her across Turkey, across Europe. To find her mother. To get back to school. To start a new life. Will the world let her? Can she achieve what now seems more impossible than ever?

Following the phenomenal international success of The Jungle, Good Chance, in collaboration with world-famous creators of War Horse Handspring Puppet Company, will present its most extraordinary work yet: The Walk – a traveling festival of art and hope in support of refugees, with Artistic Direction from Amir Nizar Zuabi.

In 2021, from the Syria-Turkey border all the way to the UK, The Walk will bring together celebrated artists, major cultural institutions, community groups and humanitarian organizations to create one of the most innovative and adventurous public artworks ever attempted.

At the heart of The Walk is ‘Little Amal’, a 3.5 meter-tall puppet of a young refugee girl, created by the acclaimed Handspring Puppet Company. Representing all displaced children, many separated from their families, Little Amal will travel over 8,000km embodying the urgent message “Don’t forget about us”.

At this time of unprecedented global change, The Walk is an extraordinary artistic response: a cultural odyssey transcending borders, politics and language to tell a new story of shared humanity – and to ensure the world doesn’t forget the millions of displaced children, each with their own story, who are more vulnerable than ever during the global pandemic.

Little Amal urgently needs your help to advocate for and support young refugees.

In Greece, Chios will be the first to welcome her on August 10 at the Chios Port and main square, but from the previous day (August 9) the cinema at the Perivoli art cafe will show two films about the place she left behind, while on the day of Little Amal's arrival on the island, the local communities will welcome her, singing traditional "Penemata", - but written especially for her - full of wishes for her journey.

On August 27, she will visit Ioannina and the Katsika refugee camp where fifteen hundred luminous messages will show her the way to center of the city, while on August 28th he will be "lost" inside the Castle and will be on the stage of the Its Calle castle in a music and dance performance.

The following day, on August 29, Trikala awaits her where she will be greeted by one hundred and fifty huge flowers to accompany her through the city. Amal continues her walk to Larissa, so on August 31st she will attend an interactive concert that will bring three hundred puppets to life.

Two days later, on September 1st, she will descend to Eleusis where she will be welcomed by teenagers who will reveal to her the "mysteries' ' of their city. After saying goodbye to Eleusis, on September 2nd he will visit Athens, where he will stay for two whole days. In the big city, in order not to lose her way, she will tie a thread to a lamppost, leaving traces of her path as she walks through the city. When she comes face to face with the mythical Minotaur she will overcome her fears and become friends with him, thus gaining courage for her next steps.

On September 3rd, she will be in an open space installation with images from dreams or even nightmares from the place she left behind. She is looking for a shelter, and she finds it at her last stop in Piraeus, on the 4th and 5th of September. The Piraeus Municipal Theater opens the door to her and offers her a sweet lullaby. A thousand birds will say goodbye to her in the morning at the harbor with wishes for her long journey that continues to Italy. the pure and simple meaning of humanity. This is a unique event - rare of its kind really - for which many people, artists, workshops, groups, organizations and organizations in many and different parts of Greece collaborate, to offer joy, support and hope.

In addition, the "One Step Ahead" educational program works in parallel with the artistic activities of the Journey. Before, after and during her journey, Little Amal connects young people through creative learning programs, helping them to create lifelong friendships. In Greece, the works of all the educational programs that started in January 2021, will be presented in three exhibitions starting from 27/8: at the D. Hatzis Cultural Center in the city of Ioannina, at the Leonidas Kanellopoulos Cultural Center of Elefsina and the Hellenic Children's Museum in Athens.

"The Walk" is a production of Good Chance Theatre, the theater organization that creates pioneering public spectacles ("The Jungle" show Young Vic, 2017), with the participation of famous artists, major cultural institutions, social groups and humanitarian organizations. This is exactly what happens with the ambitious and full of nice surprises spectacle "The WALK", in which he collaborates with the multi-award winning producer and director Stephen Daldry (The Crown, Billy Elliot, The Hours), the writer and theater producer David Lan , London 2012 Olympic Games producer Tracey Seaward, and Handspring Puppet Company (War Horse), South Africa's leading puppet makers who have been performing theater for adults and children for over four decades. The Artistic Director of the Festival is Amir Nizar Zuabi, an award-winning playwright and director who served as Deputy Director of the Young Vic Theatre, is an Honorary Member of the Union of European Theaters and a graduate of the Theater Program of the Sundance Institute. The director Yolanda Markopoulou is the producer and artistic partner of "The Walk" for Greece.