Latest news with #TheWalkProductions
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Giant wooden animal puppet parade wows city
A parade of life-sized wooden safari animal puppets has wowed crowds in Manchester as it passed through the city. The Herds aims to symbolise the animals' flight from climate disaster, according to The Walk Productions, which is behind the large scale public art. The elephants, giraffes, antelope, and lions are made from upscaled or recyclable cardboard and plywood. They arrived in the city just after 18:00 BST and will move to Heywood and Leigh in subsequent days. The animals began their 12,400m (20,000km) journey in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in April and are now moving north through European towns and cities. Volunteers in each area take on the role of puppeteers. The parade made its way through Cathedral Gardens, Corporation Street and Market Street. Rochelle Dodson and Eva Barker were impressed by the puppetry. Ms Dodson said: "It was wonderful - the movement was realistic especially with the fact they are made out of cardboard. "The giraffes eyes really looked at you." Ms Barker added: "I thought it was great – not sure I was aware of a message." Danielle who came with her daughter Poppy to watch the spectacle said: "I thought it was great - I just like the intricate details on the chimpanzees." She said it was so entertaining but she thought the eco-friendly message was not particularly clear. "I think they should have had some information or someone telling that story – if you look it up it is a beautiful message," she said. "It was really funny there was a guy with a dog on his shoulder who said 'this is great but what is it all about?'" Poppy added: "They are really big and the puppet people are so hard working." Debbie, who came with her three children, Patti, Gracie and Kit was amazed by the experience. "The puppets were incredible - I really liked the way they were moving," she said. "When they came towards us it was unbelievable." Daughter Pattie added; "I thought they were really cool - I really liked the zebras." Once The Herds leaves Greater Manchester, it will next travel through Scandinavia to the Arctic Circle. The Herds parade marked the start of Manchester International Festival, which first took place in 2007. The Walk Productions also created in 2019 the journey of Little Amal, a 12ft high puppet of a Syrian refugee child. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. The Herds: 'Being a puppeteer is really difficult' The Herds: How the giant animal puppets are made Little Amal team launch climate change puppet project
BBC News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Giant wooden animal puppet parade wows Manchester
A parade of life-sized wooden safari animal puppets has wowed crowds in Manchester as it passed through the Herds aims to symbolise the animals' flight from climate disaster, according to The Walk Productions, which is behind the large scale public elephants, giraffes, antelope, and lions are made from upscaled or recyclable cardboard and arrived in the city just after 18:00 BST and will move to Heywood and Leigh in subsequent days. The animals began their 12,400m (20,000km) journey in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in April and are now moving north through European towns and in each area take on the role of puppeteers. The parade made its way through Cathedral Gardens, Corporation Street and Market Street. 'The movement was wonderful' Rochelle Dodson and Eva Barker were impressed by the Dodson said: "It was wonderful - the movement was realistic especially with the fact they are made out of cardboard."The giraffes eyes really looked at you."Ms Barker added: "I thought it was great – not sure I was aware of a message." 'The puppeteers are working hard' Danielle who came with her daughter Poppy to watch the spectacle said: "I thought it was great - I just like the intricate details on the chimpanzees."She said it was so entertaining but she thought the eco-friendly message was not particularly clear."I think they should have had some information or someone telling that story – if you look it up it is a beautiful message," she said."It was really funny there was a guy with a dog on his shoulder who said 'this is great but what is it all about?'"Poppy added: "They are really big and the puppet people are so hard working." 'Unbelievable experience' Debbie, who came with her three children, Patti, Gracie and Kit was amazed by the experience."The puppets were incredible - I really liked the way they were moving," she said."When they came towards us it was unbelievable."Daughter Pattie added; "I thought they were really cool - I really liked the zebras." Once The Herds leaves Greater Manchester, it will next travel through Scandinavia to the Arctic Herds parade marked the start of Manchester International Festival, which first took place in Walk Productions also created in 2019 the journey of Little Amal, a 12ft high puppet of a Syrian refugee child. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Life-sized animal puppet stampede arrives in the capital
A herd of life-sized puppet animals has arrived in London, as part of its world tour to raise awareness of climate Herds aims to symbolise the animals' flight from climate disaster, according to The Walk Productions, which is behind the large scale public animals, created in part by students at Wimbledon College of Arts, will start near London Bridge on Friday morning and will then visit Soho, Somerset House, Coram's Fields, Camden High Street and Stratford. The herd's tour began on 9 April in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and then travelled north, through locations in Africa and western Europe. The collective works with local musicians, artists, dancers and climate activists en the animals travel they will grow in number and species, as more are made by local puppets are made from upscaled and recyclable materials – primarily cardboard and plywood – with a focus on biodegradable and organic materials. The Herds stampede will feature performances, theatrical readings and music along the way and a hunt is also planned to break out on Camden High London, they will continue their journey north to Greater Manchester and then travel through Scandinavia to the Arctic team behind the art piece also brought Little Amal to London, a 12ft (3.7m) puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian Nizar Zuabi, the artistic director, said: "The Herds is an urgent artistic response to the climate crisis, a living, breathing call to action that stampedes across continents. "Through the beauty and ferocity of these life-size creatures, we aim to spark dialogue, provoke thought, encourage engagement and inspire real change."
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Life-sized animal puppets to stampede across London in June
Life-sized animal puppets that have been stampeding through cities across Africa will make their way to London next public artwork is to highlight the animals travelling north to "flee the climate disaster", said The Walk Productions, which the presents large scale art. THE HERDS make their way to London from 27 to 29 June, visiting The Scoop and making their way from Soho to Somerset House, Coram's Fields, Camden High Street and Stratford. The animals began their stampede on 9 April in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and have so far travelled through Lagos, Dakar, Marrakesh, Casablanca and Rabat, encountering local musicians, artists, dancers and climate activists. The puppets are made from upscaled and recyclable materials – primarily cardboard and plywood – with a focus on bio-degradable and organic the animals travel they will grow in number and species including elephants, giraffes, antelope and will travel through Europe, including Madrid, Marseille, Venice and Paris, before arriving in the HERDS stampede will feature performances, theatrical readings and music along the way and a hunt is also planned to break out on Camden High London, they will continue their journey north to Greater Manchester and then travel through Scandinavia to the Arctic Nizar Zuabi, the artistic director, said: "THE HERDS is an urgent artistic response to the climate crisis, a living, breathing call to action that stampedes across continents. "Through the beauty and ferocity of these life-size creatures, we aim to spark dialogue, provoke thought, encourage engagement and inspire real change."
The Guardian
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Lifesize herd of puppet animals begins climate action journey from Africa to Arctic Circle
Hundreds of life-size animal puppets have begun a 20,000km (12,400 mile) journey from central Africa to the Arctic Circle as part of an ambitious project created by the team behind Little Amal, the giant puppet of a Syrian girl that travelled across the world. The public art initiative called The Herds, which has already visited Kinshasa and Lagos, will travel to 20 cities over four months to raise awareness of the climate crisis. It is the second major project from The Walk Productions, which introduced Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet, to the world in Gaziantep, near the Turkey-Syria border, in 2021. The award-winning project, co-founded by the Palestinian playwright and director Amir Nizar Zuabi, reached 2 million people in 17 countries as she travelled from Turkey to the UK. The Herds' journey began in Kinshasa's Botanical Gardens on 10 April, kicking off four days of events. It moved on to Lagos, Nigeria, the following week, where up to 5,000 people attended events performed by more than 60 puppeteers. On Friday the streets of Dakar in Senegal will be filled with more than 40 puppet zebras, wildebeest, monkeys, giraffes and baboons as they run through Médina, one of the busiest neighbourhoods, where they will encounter a creation by Fabrice Monteiro, a Belgium-born artist who lives in Senegal, and is known for his large-scale sculptures. On Saturday the puppets will be part of an event in the fishing village of Ngor. The first set of animal puppets was created by Ukwanda Puppetry and Designs Art Collective in Cape Town using recycled materials, but in each location local volunteers are taught how to make their own animals using prototypes provided by Ukwanda. The project has already attracted huge interest from people keen to get involved. In Dakar more than 300 artists applied for 80 roles as artists and puppet guides. About 2,000 people will be trained to make the puppets over the duration of the project. 'The idea is that we're migrating with an ever-evolving, growing group of animals,' Zuabi told the Guardian last year. Zuabi has spoken of The Herds as a continuation of Little Amal's journey, which was inspired by refugees, who often cite climate disaster as a trigger for forced migration. The Herds will put the environmental emergency centre stage, and will encourage communities to launch their own events to discuss the significance of the project and get involved in climate activism. 'The idea is to put in front of people that there is an emergency – not with scientific facts, but with emotions,' said The Herds' Senegal producer, Sarah Desbois. She expects thousands of people to view the four events being staged over the weekend. 'We don't have a tradition of puppetry in Senegal. As soon as the project started, when people were shown pictures of the puppets, they were going crazy.' Growing as it moves, The Herds will make its way from Dakar to Morocco, then into Europe, including London and Paris, arriving in the Arctic Circle in early August.
