Amir Nizar Zuabi To Succeed Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson as New Artistic Director of Good Chance

Six years since Good Chance built the first 'Theatre of Hope' in the Calais "Jungle" camp and began its ground-breaking international work with artists from refugee backgrounds, the award-winning charity is delighted to announce that Palestinian theatre-maker and playwright, Amir Nizar Zuabi, is to become its new Artistic Director succeeding founders and playwrights, Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson.

Under the artistic directorship of Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, Good Chance has put the refugee experience under the brightest spotlight by forging collaborations with artists with lived experience of displacement and supporting them to tell their own unique stories in their own unique ways. From building a theatre in the Calais "Jungle" at the height of the 2015 refugee and migrant crisis, to mounting the publicly and critically acclaimed play, The Jungle, on some of the world's most prestigious stages, to running creative writing workshops with diverse communities of poets from the UK and around the world, Good Chance has consistently championed the importance of art in humanitarian crises.

After a tenure of almost six years, Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson - often known as "the Joes" - will step back from the day-to-day running of the charity this July as Amir Nizar Zuabi takes up the artistic directorship of Good Chance and The Walk begins. The Joes will continue as founding Artistic Directors working on specific Good Chance projects, as well as focusing on new writing for the company and independently.

Amir Nizar Zuabi is an award-winning playwright and director. His plays include This Is Who I Am (PlayCo and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company), Grey Rock (The Public Theater and US tour), I am Yusuf and This is my Brother and Oh My Sweet Land (both Young Vic, where he was Associate Director from 2009 to 2017), and Ravinen (Riksteatern). He began collaborating with Good Chance in 2019 as Artistic Director of The Walk, one of the most innovative and adventurous public artworks ever attempted. Conceived by Good Chance, Stephen Daldry, David Lan and Tracey Seaward, The Walk will see Little Amal, a 3.5 metre-tall puppet created by Handspring Puppet Company, journey from the Syria-Turkey border all the way to the UK to shine a light on the experiences of millions of young refugees. This unprecedented 8000 kilometre-long festival of shared humanity and hope will run from July to November 2021.

Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, founding Artistic Directors of Good Chance, said: "We couldn't be happier to officially announce Amir Nizar Zuabi as the next Artistic Director of Good Chance. His theatre is both piercingly psychologically, fearlessly interrogative, as well as compassionate and deeply, powerfully human. Time and again he throws the spotlight on identity and displacement, compelling us to engage in these most urgent issues of our time. Over the past few months we've had the huge privilege of seeing his work up-close in our collaboration on The Walk and to build a friendship anchored in an inextinguishable belief in hope and the potential of humanity - the same pillars Good Chance is built upon. We'll be supporting him every step of the way as he officially joins Good Chance's ever-expanding family and steers us into the future".

Amir Nizar Zuabi, incoming Artistic Director of Good Chance, said: "After working closely with Good Chance on The Walk, I am thrilled to be part of the next chapter of the life of this exciting company. This is a huge opportunity to bring the voices of displaced and marginalised communities from around the world to the centre of the stage. These voices are seldom heard but by giving artists from these communities the ability to speak loudly and boldly about their unique experience and celebrating the richness of the culture they come from we can deepen the debate around culture in the UK and further afield. Good Chance will illuminate the richness of human experience and creativity, celebrating the fact that outstanding art is not confined to geography and circumstance, but is led by the need to expand our vision of the world".

Stephen Daldry, Chair of Good Chance, said: "It was never going to be easy to find the person to take over at Good Chance. The Joes have been at its heart from the very first moment. Their sense of what matters in the world provided its DNA. So the Trustees are very fortunate that, after our meetings with many impressive candidates, the person who seemed to all of us to be the Joes' ideal successor is someone with an immense and imaginative commitment to the Good Chance idea. To state the obvious, there is no single version of 'the refugee experience.' Every crisis that causes disruption to the degree that people are forced to leave their homes is different from every other, as is the experience of individual refugees and their families. We are convinced that due to his great skill as a playwright, director and producer, built on the particularity of his experience, Amir Nizar will take Good Chance in new and unexpected directions while staying true to our unique perspective on the contribution art can make to a world in disarray. We welcome his appointment with enthusiasm and great optimism and warmly invite audiences to join us on The Walk, a spectacularly ambitious project, with Amir Nizar at the helm, later this summer".

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