Fearlessly blending politics and performance, The Walk Productions turns urgent global crises into unforgettable public art, empowering citizens to join at the heart of the creation. The Walk Productions is led by Artistic Director Amir Nizar Zuabi and Executive Producer Sarah Loader and was founded by producers David Lan and Tracey Seaward.
Our work has reached over 2 million people in 26 countries across five continents. Our awards include UN Live Top 10 Culture for Impact 2025 (The Herds), the New York Times Best Theatre Event of 2022, Time Out New York No. 1 Art Event of 2022, the RSGS Livingstone Medal and a Guinness World Record (all Little Amal).
We first captured the world’s imagination in 2021 with Little Amal, the 3.5-metre puppet of a young refugee girl who walked across Europe, demanding empathy and a shared human response to displacement.
Our newest work is And still no mercy - a contemporary dance-theatre piece born out grief, vulnerability and mercy in times of global upheaval, with original composition by Brian Eno and choreography by Gregory Maqoma; Return of the Buffalo - a breathtaking herd of life-size buffalo puppets which will stampede through New York City -and Elders a participatory public artwork unfolding across the UK, giving voice to some of the oldest living beings among us: our trees.
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Ukwanda Puppets was founded by Luyanda Nogodlwana, Siphokazi Mpofu and Sipho Ngxola in Cape Town South Africa in 2010. They developed their work through the mentorship of Handspring Puppet Company and are key collaborators on the design and creation of the giant puppets for the annual Barrydale Puppet Parade in the Klein Karro, originally a Handspring initiative.
They have achieved considerable acclaim with their productions of Qhawe: a Xhosa Fairytale (2014, winner of the Standard Bank Ovation Award), Warona (2018, winner of the Standard Bank Ovation Award and Silver Award for Excellence) and Isingqala Samazni (2022). Their puppetry design and direction includes The Herds (2025), The Final Spring, Reboot Eden, The New Normal Life and their performances includes the Cape Town Partnership’s The City Walk, the Baxter Theatre’s Zabalaza Festival, the Cape Town Carnival and most recently Celebration Parade at the Adelaide Festival (2024). Their long-standing collaborator Craig Leo directed Ukwanda in his productions of The Lonely Sailor Weather Report (2020) and Nothing is here (2022).
In 2024, Ukwanda won Best Puppetry Design at the Fleur du Cap Awards for Maxeke: This Work is Not for Yourselves. They are resident artists at the Centre for Humanities Research, University of the Western Cape.
THE HERDS puppets were designed by Ukwanda Puppets - Luyanda Nogodlwana, Siphokazi Mpofu, Sipho Ngxola - with Craig Leo, Simon Dunckley, Hansie Visagie, Tundra Dunckley, Kim Bednall and Amir Nizar Zuabi.
THE HERDS introduced a pioneering training programmefor aspiring puppeteers - The Emerging Company (E-Co). This initiative providedperformers from 19 countries worldwide with a rare opportunity to receiveprofessional puppetry training while travelling with THE HERDS for ten weeksacross multiple countries.
The 43 members of The Emerging Company joined THE HERDS fromSouthern Europe to Scandinavia, becoming immersed in world-class performances and hands-on learning led by Ukwanda Puppets and Designs Art Collective andArtistic Director Amir Nizar Zuabi. This transformative experience not only developed their skills but also empowered them - as the next generation of storytellers -to bring urgent global issues to life through the art of puppetry.
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