THE HERDS will take place between April and August 2025 along a route from Central Africa to Norway, in cities including: Kinshasa (DRC), Lagos (Nigeria), Dakar (Senegal), Marrakesh and Casablanca (Morocco), Malaga, Madrid and Barcelona (Spain), Marseille and Paris (France), Manchester and London (UK), Copenhagen (Denmark), Stockholm (Sweden) and Trondheim and will culminate in a final event in the Arctic Circle.

THE HERDS is created by The Walk Productions, the international team behind "Little Amal", the 12 foot tall puppet of a refugee child who has journeyed through 18 countries.

Led by Artistic Director Amir Nizar Zuabi, her award-winning journeys have been experienced by more than 2 million people live, and millions more online.

From the Congo to the Arctic, we have built a team of local and international creatives, who are experts in their respective fields of production, education, environment and communications. As passionate advocates for their particular localities, embedded in the distinctive culture of their cities, they challenge us to ensure THE HERDS does not simply “visit” but is powered by local knowledge.

THE HERDS will offer audiences across the world a stark artistic image, overwhelming in grandeur and alarm and strives to bring a perspective shift to the climate crisis.

Our intention is that THE HERDS will create a sensory emotional experience that has the power to stimulate action. From the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle we are creating events of artistic excellence, working with leading artists from across Africa and Europe.

Yes. We are working in partnership with international and grassroots climate and environmental organisations and ambassadors to inform our work from its earliest stages, including with world-leading scientists, zoologists, re-wilding conservationists, and climate activists. 

THE HERDS sustainability practices are designed in partnership with Hope Solutions and Renew Culture: Theatre Green Book. Sustainability has been considered in all areas of production, not only in the design of the animals but extending to the transport, production and digital methodology. 

Zoologically accurate, the animal puppets for THE HERDS will convey the ferocity and beauty of nature - proud, elegant, highly alarmed but intensely graceful.  Each puppet will be crafted from renewable and recyclable materials that are easily available in each territory.

There will be over 20 species of animals created for THE HERDS including elephants, giraffes, antelope and lions. Some local species will join in their local habitats, such as green vervet monkeys in Nigeria, wolves in Spain and reindeer in Norway. As the animals cross continents, they will grow in numbers and species, reacting and adapting to each new environment and its challenges, generating a massive participatory event. 

THE HERDS puppets are designed in South Africa by Ukwanda Puppets and Designs Art Collective (Luyanda Nogodlwana, Siphokazi Mpofu, Sipho Ngxola), Craig Leo, Simon Dunckley, Hansie Visagie, Tundra Dunckley and Amir Nizar Zuabi. They came together in 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa and have a background in designing, building and bringing to life some of the world’s most famous puppet creations including Little Amal and the War Horse puppets, both under the leadership of Handspring Puppet Company.

We are searching for a limited number of talented, dynamic and physical performers to join THE HERDS Emerging Company intensive training programme in puppetry and public art performance for 10 weeks in Spring/Summer 2025.

We will shortly be releasing details for our 7-day local participation opportunities in each of the cities along THE HERDS route.

If you are interested in building some of THE HERDS animals in one of the cities along the route, please get in touch.

THE HERDS is brought to life with the support of public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, The Backstage Trust, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Art Fund, ArtYard, Frederick Mulder Foundation, JKW Foundation and Maria Björnson Memorial Fund. With generous support from James Armstrong, the Hacking Family, Cheryl Henson, Danielle Lambert, Alexander Leff, Valerie Dillon & Daniel Lewis, Melony & Adam Lewis, Patrick McKenna and Paul Zuckerman.

We welcome new approaches from trusts, foundations, private individuals and corporate sponsors who would like to support us. Please contact us to discuss.

We will soon release “Boxed Wilderness” our one-of-a-kind digital educational resource designed to rekindle young students’ engagement with the natural world, empowering the next generation with the knowledge, skills and passion to protect our planet.