One Minute World Arts- The Great Adventure of Hope: Little Amal in New York City
Little Amal, a 3.5 meters tall refugee puppet whose name means “hope”, has traveled across the ocean from Europe to New York City. Modelled on a Syrian girl looking for her mother, Little Amal started her journey last year as a 9-year-old. Despite encountering some hostility at certain places, her eager quest for “hope” in Europe still ended up receiving warm support from many people, including Pope Francis, Jude Law, and Waad al-Kateab, the Syrian film-maker who made the award-winning documentary For Sama. In May 2022, the now 10-year-old girl “decided” to continue her plan, “walking” to Poland to meet with Ukrainian refugees; later in September, she finally arrived in New York City, searching for her uncle.
The project of Little Amal’s long walk was initiated by the Good Chance Theatre, with the idea deriving from the company’s immersive production The Jungle, which made its American premiere at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York City in December 2018 and received acclaims right away. The giant doll of Little Amal was designed and created by Handspring, a puppetry performance and design company based in Cape Town, South Africa that also made the famous puppet Joey the War Horse. Now that Little Amal has come to New York, she is set to meet with a few world leaders, and visit some refugees, who have newly arrived in the States like herself, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In addition, she would also join some of the families of victims of 9/11 for a quiet and meditative meeting. Eventually, Little Amal would return to St. Ann’s Warehouse to complete her trip, hopefully creating a higher profile for those who need to make their voices heard.
延續希望之旅：小阿默勇闖大紐約
去年我們分享過的巨型人偶「小阿默」（Little Amal），這回終於跨過大海來到紐約市了！名字原義為阿拉伯語「希望」之意的小阿默，高約3.5公尺，是個為了找尋失散母親而踏上長征之路的敘利亞小女孩。儘管在去年的歐洲徒步旅程中，小阿默曾於部分地區遭受不友善的對待，但最後她的遠途跋涉仍然贏得多方的暖心支持，包括教宗方濟各（Pope Francis）、影星裘德洛（Jude Law）、以及因拍攝紀錄片《親愛的莎瑪》（For Sama）而獲獎無數的敘利亞導演娃艾．阿卡提布（Waad al-Kateab）等人，都敞開胸懷讚揚她的壯舉。今年5月，10歲的小阿默延續她的計畫，「行走」到波蘭會見烏克蘭的難民，隨後又前往紐約市尋找她的舅舅。
小阿默的行走計畫源自好時機劇團（Good Chance）的沉浸式作品《叢林》（The Jungle），該作2018年曾在布魯克林的聖安倉庫（St. Ann’s Warehouse）演出，廣獲好評。至於小阿默的人偶製作，則是由南非戲偶設計公司「妙手生春」（Handspring Puppet Company）負責完成，並由來自臺灣的魏道揚（Enrico Dau Yang Wey）擔任偶戲導演；知名戲偶「戰馬喬伊」也是出自同一創意團隊的手筆。如今，這個敘利亞「女孩」，已於9月順利抵達紐約；造訪期間，小阿默會有一些全新的體驗，包括與世界領導人物見面、前往聖派翠克教堂（St. Patrick’s Cathedral）探視初抵紐約的難民朋友們，以及會晤911罹難者家屬等行程，最後則返回聖安倉庫，為這趟移動式的「希望展演」畫下句點，期能替美國境內的受難族群發聲。
Photo Credit ©Abigail Montes/The Walk Productions/St. Ann's Warehouse, David Levene/The Guardian, Antonio Masiello/Getty Images, Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
Sources:
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/28/us/new-york-little-amal-puppet-refugee-cec/index.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/kidspost/2022/09/19/little-amal-puppet-visits-new-york/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2021/oct/27/little-amal-in-london-in-pictures