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Amir Nizar Zuabi: How one puppet's 5,000 mile journey delivers a message of hope

Part 1 of TED Radio Hour episode: Special Delivery

Amal is a nine-year-old Syrian refugee. She's also a giant puppet. Theater director Amir Nizar Zuabi discusses how art can deliver a new message on the plight of refugees in his project "The Walk."

About Amir Nizar Zuabi

Amir Nizar Zuabi is an award-winning theater director and playwright, and the founder of the Palestinian theater company, ShiberHur.

He has worked on numerous theatrical productions, including I am Yusuf, Three Days of Grief, Grey Rock, Jidarriya, and The Comedy of Errors. Previously, he was an associate director of the Young Vic, a member of the United Theaters Europe for artistic achievement and an alumni of The Sundance Institute Theatre Program.

In April 2021, Zuabi became artistic director at Good Chance, a London-based theater company that is producing "The Walk," a theater project documenting the puppet Amal's journey across Europe. He is also currently creating a show for the Riksteatern Theater in Stockholm, Sweden and writing a play for London's National Theatre.

This segment of TED Radio Hour was produced by Katie Monteleone and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.
Katie Monteleone is a producer for TED Radio Hour. She started out as an intern for the show in January 2019. After her internship, Monteleone began producing for Life Kit before returning to the TED Radio Hour team in October 2019 as a full-time producer.