On Saturday 20th August 2022, to mark one-year since the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, Good Chance Theatre (creators of The Jungle and The Walk with Amal) launched Fly With Me, an immersive, multi-city kite flying festival presented by Afghan artists, actors and sportspeople. Spread across 16 locations in the UK and Europe, Fly With Me celebrated the ancient Afghan craft of kite-flying in an aerial act of solidarity with the people of Afghanistan. The artform, alongside music, theatre and dance, were previously banned by the Taliban during their occupation of the country.

Afghanistan is experiencing one of the most devastating humanitarian crises in the world. More than 23 million people -over half the population -face acute hunger according to the UNICEF World Food Program. Of the 16,000 Afghan refugees evacuated by the UK last year, 12,000 remain housed in unsuitable temporary accommodation, unable to cook for themselves, or integrate into the local community. As the UK shifts its focus elsewhere, the Home Office has slashed the number of Afghan refugees allowed into the UK and the Afghan Resettlement Scheme has stalled. In the midst of dwindling public awareness, Fly With Me invited people from all backgrounds, regardless of race, nationality or religious beliefs, to come together and fly a kite -sending a message to the world to ‘Remember Afghanistan’ and treat Afghan refugees with the same respect and open heartedness shown to refugees from Ukraine.

16 cities and towns across the UK and Europe took part in the Fly With Me kite flying festival, including Brighton, Bradford, Dover, Folkestone, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Northamptonshire, Scunthorpe and Sheffield in the UK, and Berlin, Pas-de-Calais, Paris, Copenhagen and Barcelona in Europe. Many UK festivals including Manchester International Festival and Shambala took part. The cultural significance of kites and Afghanistan’s complex history will form part of the festival's storytelling, alongside music, poetry and dance from Afghan artists and other community groups. In kite making workshops across Europe and the UK, Afghan storytellers brought to life the story of Zaki, a 12-year-old boy in Kabul (the capital of Afghanistan) who, in keeping with 800-year-old traditions, loves to fly kites each autumn. His brother Bahram was forced to flee by the Taliban, so Zaki is learning how to make kites alone with his younger sister, Marwa.

Good Chance invited thousands of people across the UK and Europe to hear Zaki’s story, and learn how to make and fly kites together with him. A kite-making pack of instructions, materials and short films were available for families, schools, town councils, community groups and individuals to create their own Afghan kites. Good Chance also shared a blueprint of the kite-making and storytelling workshop, tips on flying kites and ideas for communities and councils putting on their own event. Fly With Me was developed with the master Afghan kite maker, Sanjar Qiam, who founded a toy shop in Brighton and hosts kite-making workshops across the UK, Afghan actor, storyteller and director Elham Ehsas (The Kite Runner, Homeland) and Afghan musician and Fly With Me creative Elaha Soroor. At the event in London on Parliament Hill, Elham gave a speech and Elaha performed.

Fly With Me was delivered in collaboration with lead humanitarian partner Afghanaid (a British humanitarian and development organisation), raising funds for their ‘By Her Side’ match-funding campaign to support women in rural Afghan communities, and produced in cooperation with Allianz Kulturstiftung and with lead supporters Arts Council England. Good Chance Theatre previously created The Jungle, exploring the experience of refugees in the Calais Jungle co-produced with the National Theatre and Young Vic, and The Walk with Little Amal, a co-production with The Walk Productions Ltd and Handspring Puppet Company, featuring a 3.5m high puppet of a young Syrian refugee girl highlighting the journey taken by refugee children across Europe, which won the Time Out Best Public Artwork Award 2021.