Little Amal’s Touring Team

Amir Nizar Zuabi is an award-winning playwright and director. He was the founding Artistic Director of ShiberHur Theater Company in Palestine, an Associate Director of the Young Vic Theatre, a member of the United Theaters Europe for artistic achievement, and an alumni of The Sundance Institute Theatre Program.

Following his work on The Walk, in January 2022 he took up the role of Artistic Director of The Walk Productions Limited.

His writing and directing credits include I am Yusuf and This is my Brother, In the Penal Colony, Oh My Sweet Land The Beloved (ShiberHur/Young Vic); Three Days of Grief, West of Us The Sea, Mid Spring Musical, Dry Mud, Against A Hard Surface (ShiberHur); Last Ward, Who Killed You Asmahan, The Huta (Palestinian National Theatre) and Grey Rock (Remote Theater Project, La Mama NYC).

Directing credits include: Samson and Delilah (Flanders Opera, Antwerp); Jidarriya by Mahmoud Darwish (Edinburgh International Festival, Bouffes du Nord and world tour); Forget Herostratus, Le Mallade Imaginer, War or More, Sneeze, Deep Sorrow, Fall Tale, When The World Was Green, Lanterns Of The King Of Galilee, Taha and The Comedy of Errors (Royal Shakespeare Company).

David Lan is a writer and producer. He was writer-in-residence at the Royal Court 1994/1996, artistic director of the Young Vic 2000/2018, consulting artistic director at the Performing Arts Center in NY 2014/2016 and theatre associate at BAM 2019/2020.  His publications include Guns and Rain: guerrillas and spirit mediums in Zimbabwe, a collection of plays and a memoir As if by Chance: Journeys, Theatres, Lives.

Tracey Seaward’s producer credits include Danny Boyle’s Millions, Fernando Meirelles’ Academy winning The Constant Gardener; David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises; Steven Spielberg’s War Horse; Michael Grandage’s Genius; eight movies with Stephen Frears including BAFTA and Academy nominated Dirty Pretty Things, The Queen for which she won a BAFTA for Best British Film and a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination, Tamara Drewe, Philomena for which she received a further Golden Globe, BAFTA & Academy Award Best Film nomination, the Golden Globe nominated Florence Foster Jenkins starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, and Victoria & Abdul.

Tracey also produced the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games, directed by Danny Boyle and The Two Popes directed by Fernando Meirelles starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce which was nominated for 4 Golden Globes, 4 BAFTAs, 3 Academy Awards.

Tracey was Executive Producer on The Palace currently in production for HBO directed by Stephen Frears and starring Kate Winslet and Pistol a six hour limited series directed by Danny Boyle for FX.

Before walking with Amal, Sarah Loader was a General Manager and Theatre Producer for many West End and touring theatre productions.  She was the General Manager for the Young Vic, General Manager for Mark Rubinstein (MRL), Associate Producer for ATG Productions and a Production Assistant for Bill Kenwright.  She was also for many years a freelance independent producer specialising in new plays and musicals. Between 2009 and 2016, she was creative associate to Simon McBurney.

Alice Evans is a community with 10 years of experience in bringing communities into the realm of professional high quality theatre.

Alice has worked in many different education departments across the UK including most recently at Shakespeare’s Globe where she produced Midsummer Mechanicals at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. The production broke all usual conventions of an audiences’ role in order to ensure that accessibility was a top priority. The production was nominated for the 2023 Olivier Award for Best Family Show.

Alice has worked as a community producer at Theatre Clwyd producing their first major community production Mold Riots: a bilingual, site-specific, outdoor, promenade show with a company of 200 community volunteers. For Mold Riots, Alice built partnerships with local charities and organisations City of Sanctuary and Mind to reach community members.

Alice curated Wellbeing: an arts programme at Deer Shed Festival, a family music festival in the north of England.

For The Walk Productions, Alice was education producer for The Walk (2021). She created the education programme and education pack which has been used by more than 750,000 worldwide. In 2023 she became Associate Producer for all of Little Amal’s journeys.

Enrico Dau Yang Wey from Taiwan, is Associate Artistic Director for all of Little Amal’s journeys. They have been a long standing senior member of Handspring and has performed in Kentridge’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse and War Horse on Broadway. They were Resident Puppetry Director for the German production of War Horse. Enrico has presented work through Danspace Project (US), Conde Duque (ES), and for River to River Festival 2018 (US). Notable roles include Shulea Cheang’s 3x3x6 (2019 Venice Biennale Taiwan Pavilion), Dennis Cooper/Zac Farley’s feature film Like Cattle Towards Glow and roles for choreographers Robyn Orlin, Annie-b Parson, and Ishmael Houston-Jones. Enrico holds an MA from UdK Berlin and has published research through Brumaria (ES) and Performance Research (UK). Most recently, Wey performed in the UK touring production of Animal Farm and performed a vocal score rooted in this research for Picnic Sessions at Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo in Madrid.

Ashley Winkfield is a multidisciplinary artist and writer from Durham, NC where they grew up surrounded by music and the arts. They began their journey into professional performance at UNC-Chapel Hill where they were introduced to puppetry while workshopping Basil Twist’s Rite of Spring. After graduating with a degree in Performance Studies, Ashley began performing new works in New York City at locations such as Jazz at Lincoln Center, Abrons Art Center, LaMama, and Greenwood Cemetery. They currently train with Shannah Rae Vocal Studios and Lucid Body Technique. Ashley is currently based in Brooklyn, NY, and Winston-Salem, NC.

As well as working with Little Amal, Ben Kramer works on film and TV productions across the UK.  In his spare time he lovingly refurbishes old vehicles and spends as much time as he can in his native Cornwall.

Ben Thompson is from West Sussex, and grew up near Chichester. Ben trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Ben’s theatre work includes; Oddbod the Dog in The Boy in the Dress (RSC), Die Zauberflote (Glyndebourne), Mr. White in The Town That Trees Built (Young Vic), The Magic Flute (ENO), Toto in The Wizard of Oz (Birmingham Rep), Dad in The Marbleous Route Home (Young Vic), Vivaldi’s Four Seasons: A Reimagining (Shakespeare’s Globe), Wilbur in Winnie and Wilbur (Birmingham Rep), Kipper in Kipper’s Snowy Day (Slot Machine), Oona the Elephant in Running Wild (Regent’s Park), The Rebel in Light (Ad Infinitum), The Lorax in The Lorax (Old Vic), Claudio in Measure for Measure (The Factory), Captain Flint in Treasure Island (National Theatre), Tesoro in Before the Dawn (Hammersmith Apollo), Zephyrus in The Light Princess (National Theatre), Curio in Twelfth Night and Dorset in Richard III (Shakespeare’s Globe/Apollo), Rosencrantz/Gravedigger in Hamlet (The Factory), Nephew Fred/Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol (National Theatre of Scotland), Joey/Topthorn in War Horse (National Theatre), Golden Monkey/Balthamos in His Dark Materials (Birmingham Rep/West Yorkshire Playhouse), Kevin in Low Life (Blind Summit Theatre), Sorrow in Madam Butterfly (ENO), Drone in Faeries (ROH2) and John Darling in Peter Pan (Dundee Rep). Television and Film work includes; Mould in Fungus the Bogeyman (Sky/The Imaginarium), Bear in Table Manners (Indy8/Channel 4) and as a puppeteer in Fantastic Beasts 2, Gravity (Warner Bros.) and Life (Columbia Pictures).

Mohammed Smahneh – who goes by Barges – is a self-taught hip-hop and contemporary dance artist. He has won various break-dance battles in Palestine and performed in many international and local projects including: Badke, a co-production between KVS, les ballets C de la B & A.M. Qattan Foundation (2013-16, Belgium); B choreographed by Koen Augustijnen and Rosalba Torres (2017-2019, Belgium);  Nomads Dance Camp directed by Dina Abu Hamdan with choreographers Jorge Crecis, Taoufiq Izzediou, and Samar Haddad King (2014, Jordan); Naji Ali with Botega Dance Company directed by Enzo Celli (2009, Italy); and was a champion in Floor Wars Battle (2012, Denmark). In 2004-5 Smahneh performed dabke in festivals in Spain and Greece. Mohammed has been a member of Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre (YSDT) since 2011.

Craig Leo is a South African theatre designer, puppeteer and performing artist.

Local collaborations include: Magnet Theatre, Jazzart Dance Theatre, Mothertongue Project, Janni Younge Productions. Handspring Puppet Company credits include: Tall Horse, War Horse, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse (William Kentridge), Or I’ll Kiss You and The Life and Times of Michael K.  Directorial Credits include: Associate Director of Puppetry, War Horse (UK, Holland and Australia), Puppetry Direction for Franco Dragone’s House of the Dancing Water and Olifantland.

Most recently: Puppetry design and direction, Elliot Harper’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, director Sally Cookson, Leeds Playhouse/The Bridge Theatre, London. Recent puppetry credits Include: Gyre and Gimble’s, Vivaldi’s Four Season Re-Imagined, Shakespeare’s Globe, London.

Elijah Grant is an experienced and creative Videographer and Video Editor, with extensive experience in creating online advertisements, trailers, documentaries, branded content, event highlights and behind the scenes. His ambition is to challenge the status quo while empowering audiences, creating video content that inspires, educates and entertains others.

Emma Longthorne is a British actor and puppeteer who trained at East 15 Acting School and The Curious School of Puppetry.

Theatre credits include: The Man Who Wanted to be a Penguin (Stuff and Nonsense) My Other Self: Richard III (Cockpit Theatre) Dear Zoo Live (UK Tour) Home for Christmas (Lichfield Garrick) The Comedy of Errors (Open Bar Theatre) Lily and the Little Snowbear (UK Tour) Coriolanus, The Comedy of Errors (Cambridge Shakespeare Festival) Macbeth (Tristan Bates Theatre) The Snow Queen, Twelfth Night (White Horse Theatre).

Fidaa Zidan is actress and writer. She was born in the village of Beit Jann, in the Galilee region of Palestine. She received a BA in Social Theater from Haifa University, and a Master of  Fine Arts from Tel-Aviv University. She wrote and performed the Arabic version of her capstone production, The Last Day of Spring (2018) in Haifa, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Uganda- KITF, and in Hebrew at the Tel Aviv University.

In January 2019, Zidan performed in Amir Nizar Zuabi’s play, Grey Rock, produced by Remote Theater Project in New York City and featured in the New York Times, and later toured the USA in January 2020.

She has worked with Zuabi in several plays including Against a Hard Surface (2017) a co-production with Ya Samer Dance Theater, West of Us the Sea (2016) and The Lanterns of the King of Galilee (2016).

Additional performances include: The Stone is Our Sign (2014) directed by Di Travis and produced by the Jenin Freedom Theater; The Freedom Bus (2012) playback theatre projects around the West Bank directed by Ben Rivers; Mire (2016) a musical theatre show by Faraj Suliman and Amir Nizar Zuabi.

Films include: Polygraph a short film by Samera Saraya (2019) Another Point of View a short film by Bilal Khateb (2018).

Fidaa also participates in social theater programs for disadvantaged communities and various educational projects, also edit and participate in Children’s theater projects.

Currently Fidaa is writing SpokenWord and  her first short movie script.

Muaz Aljubeh is a Jerusalem based, Palestinian lighting designer who has been working in the field since 1995. He was the technical director for Al-Kasaba Theatre and Cinematheque for almost 20 years and is currently the technical director for the Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival since its founding in 2006.

He has created light for more than 30 local productions, which have toured nationally and internationally. His work has been seen in notable theatres and festivals such as Tokyo Art International Festival (Japan), Carthage Theatrical Days Festival (Tunisia), Young Vic Theatre (United Kingdom), The Avignon Festival (France), and the Institute De La Monde Arab (France). He is currently touring Taha, Azza, Where Can I Find Someone Like You, Ali?, and Against a Hard Surface.

Nicole Baker received her BFA in dance performance from Adelphi University, graduating Summa Cum Laude. At AU, she performed the works of Martha Graham, Orion Duckstein, Takehiro Ueyama, Paul Taylor, and Jiří Kylián. Currently, she is a company member of Eryc Taylor Dance and chrisbell dances. Nicole most recently traveled to Mumbai, India for a three week tour to perform in an exclusive industrial with internationally renowned choreographer Nikos Lagousakos in the 2019 Aditya Birla Group Awards.

Rachel Leonard is passionate about puppetry… how it can free imagination and deepen an audience’s personal connection to a story through their empathetic interpretation of the puppet’s actions. Her love of the art form was cemented in the 1990’s, while training at The Little Angel Theatre in London, and aboard The Puppet Theatre Barge. Since then she has also gone on to work with The RSC, The National Theatre, Kneehigh, MIF with Phelim McDermott, Handspring Puppet Co, Silent Tide and The Curious School of Puppetry amongst many others.

When not looking after Amal, Sam Moore can be found creating magical events and transforming spaces for people to explore, discover and enjoy. With over a decade of experience in live events, he takes any challenge in his stride and revels in solving whatever problems you throw at him.

Sarah Calver is a director, writer, dramaturg and actor. She works in various capacities in the creation and development of new work for theatre and film with a focus on devised, collaborative, movement based and interdisciplinary work. She is founder of international company Flight of the Escales.

My name is Sebastian Charles and I’m a physical theatre performer/actor. Born in the UK. I started my theatrical journey very young as I’m part of a very “performy” family, this took me into TV work in my early teens but I found the love for physical theatre in my late teens which after working with Frantic Assembly, took me to college.

After graduating from East 15 in Southend studying BA in Physical Theatre and Acting, I began my crazy 7 year journey till now.

Performing as an outdoor street theatre clown as my first job post grad, to delving more into dance theatre, to travelling overseas as a lead singer in an a cappella band, performing in Latitude and Riverside Theatre on the Southbank as Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

I’m always looking for something that I know is going to creatively challenge me and a story that I believe in. This took me to Action to the Word’s A Clockwork Orange at the Park Theatre, followed by my journey in War Horse which lasted 18 months. I felt I’d been a horse long enough and wanted to speak, which took me into something a little different and narrated for the English National Ballet. Finally my last adventure before everything took a long theatrical nap was performing in The Bridge Theatre in Sally Cookson’s production of Lion Witch and the Wardrobe, all while selling hats in-between to keep that London roof over me head.

A Toronto-based performer, Troy has worked as a professional puppeteer, actor, choreographer, dancer, stilt walker, parkour artist, acrobat, and stuntman for over 20 years.

Troy launched his professional career in the Dora Award winning musical production, Lord of the Rings (Mirvish Productions – world premiere) utilizing his skills as a stilt walker, acrobat, dancer and stunt performer. Troy has continued to work both in theatre and film as a puppeteer, actor, dancer and physical performer.

As a puppeteer, Troy performed a leading puppeteer role as Joey in War Horse, produced by Mirvish Theatre Proeductions, featuring puppets by Handspring Puppet Company.  Additional theatre credits include The Heart of Robinhood (Mirvish Productions), The Forbidden Phoenix (Citadel Theatre/MTYP/YPT), and A Soldier’s Tale (Theatre Aquarius).

Troy was recently featured in the starring role of Overlord in the TV series Overlord and the Underwoods (Hulu/CBC Gem/Nickelodeon). Other film and TV credits include:Score: A Hockey Musical, Reign, Save the Last Dance 2, and Stepping Up.

Troy is also a respected professional street dancer (bboying and house dance), and has traveled across Canada, and Europe performing.

Troy’s work as a choreographer combines breaking, house and contemporary dance with parkour, and has been featured and produced by the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Alias Dance Company and numerous dance festivals.

Troy is thrilled to be travelling the world as a puppeteer with Little Amal.