A talk and Q&A for puppetry practitioners, artists and anyone interested in large-scale public puppetry.
Join Sarah Loader, Executive Director of The Walk Productions, for an evening exploring the making of two of the world’s most talked-about large-scale puppet projects: Little Amal and The Herds.
Little Amal, the 12-foot puppet of a refugee child, has travelled across 26 countries and been seen by more than 2 million people. The Herds is a 20,000km journey of life-size puppet animals travelling from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle, fleeing climate disaster. Both projects use puppetry on a huge scale to create public encounters that are emotional, political and impossible to ignore.
Hear from Sarah about how these productions are made, from artistic vision to large-scale logistics, international collaboration and public participation. The Q&A will be hosted by freelance producer Bev Adams, whose current research explores large-scale puppetry and climate activism.
This is a chance to hear directly from someone at the centre of these world-class productions, ask questions and reflect on what ambitious public puppetry can do.
How it works
Book a ticket in advance to reserve your place. Tickets are £5.
Please arrive 15 minutes before the start time so we can begin promptly. This is a seated event in Screen 2 at Broadway Cinema.
There will be time for questions and discussion during the evening.
About the speakers
Sarah Loader
Sarah is Executive Director of The Walk Productions, leading The Herds and Little Amal with Artistic Director Amir Nizar Zuabi. Before joining The Walk, she worked across West End and touring theatre productions, including roles at the Young Vic, ATG Productions and as a long-term creative associate to Simon McBurney.
Bev Adams
Bev creates outdoor and community-engaged events, often using mask and puppetry. She works across visual and non-verbal performance, and is currently completing PhD research into sustainable puppetry practices at the University of Leeds.