International show, co-produced by creators of War Horse puppets, to see refugee figure travel 8000km

A brand new puppet show will travel across borders and nations from next April.

Set up by Good Chance Theatre (The Jungle) in a co-production with Handspring Theatre Company (War Horse), the piece, titled The Walk, will begin in Turkey and end in the UK, with stops in Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and France.

Featuring a 3.5m tall puppet, the girl, named "Little Amal", will visit 70 cities, towns and villages, during which time there will be street parades and city-wide performances of music, dance and theatre to greet her. An education programme will also run in tandem with her journey. The experience will culminate in a large scale outdoor participatory event at Manchester International Festival (MIF) in July 2021.

Producer Stephen Daldry described the piece as "the most ambitious public art event ever attempted" in a press conference held earlier today. On the creative team are artistic director Amir Nizar Zuabi, puppetry directors Craig Leo and Enrico Dau Yang Wey, puppetry associate Sarah Wright and costume designer Annie Symons.

Partnering on the international endeavour are The International Rescue Committee (IRC), Bloomberg Philanthropies, Comic Relief, Emergency, Help Refugees / Choose Love, Humanity Crew, Safe Passage, The Syria Campaign, Karam Foundation, UNHCR (International); İstanbul Kültür Sanat Vakfı (Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts), K2 Güncel Sanat Merkezi (K2 Contemporary Art Centre), Kültürhane, Yaren Kooperatifi (Turkey); under the auspices of the City of Athens, Municipal Theatre of Piraeus, El Sistema Greece, SolidarityNow, mind the fact, Melissa Network (Greece); C.A.S.A. Centro delle Arti della Scena e dell'Audiovisivo, Comune di Napoli, Teatro Pubblico Pugliese, Fondazione Pangea, Teatro di Roma (Italy); La Criée – Théâtre National de Marseille, Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes, Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA), La Villette, Musée national de l'histoire de l'immigration, Refugee Food Festival (France); Kaserne Basel (Switzerland); CRILUX, ASBL La Source (Belgium); Manchester International Festival, Canterbury Cathedral, Counterpoint Arts, Mayor of London, National Theatre, Roundhouse, Royal Opera House, Sadler's Wells, Shubbak Festival (UK).