One man with questions. 3 huge hand-knitted tapestries. A 15-year search for answers, with lots of funny, moving, life experiences along the way.
In May 2025, Canadian actor, writer and fibre artist Kirk Dunn tours his award-winning one-man show, The Knitting Pilgrim, across the UK. Along the way, he’ll stop at Canada House, the home of the Canadian High Commission in London, to install his huge, knitted work, The Patchwork Pride Project, on the building’s façade for 6 weeks leading up to Pride London in Trafalgar Square.
The show The Knitting Pilgrim comes to Bradford Cathedral on Wednesday 7th May at 7pm.
Directed by Jennifer Tarver, and performed by actor, writer and knitter Kirk Dunn, The Knitting Pilgrim is a multidisciplinary one-person play that has performed over 100 times in Canada, Austria, Germany and the United States. It uses storytelling, image projection and a one-of-a-kind fibre installation called Stitched Glass.
The Knitting Pilgrim premiered at the Aga Khan Museum’s theatre in May 2019, was given 6 out of 5 stars by CFMU Hamilton, 5 out of 5 stars by Mooney on Theatre, and was named a Critic’s Pick at the Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton fringes, as well as One of ‘Top Ten Shows to See’ by NOW Magazine. It tells the story of a journey that you need to experience.
“A stunning piece of theatre…
glorious and so moving.”
– Lynn Slotkin,
The Slotkin Letter
Hand-knit by Kirk Dunn, Stitched Glass is a triptych of large panels, designed in the style of stained-glass windows, which looks at the commonalities and conflicts amongst the Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The fibre masterwork was supported by an Ontario Arts Council Chalmers Foundation grant in 2003, and took Kirk an incredible 15 years to complete. There is no other knitting installation like it in the world.
Kirk and seasoned writer Claire Ross Dunn co-wrote The Knitting Pilgrim, which uses the Stitched Glass panels – collectively over 90 pounds of knitting – as its set. The play recounts Kirk’s artistic and spiritual journey hand-knitting the project, and his hope to contribute to the vital conversation about xenophobia, Antisemitism and Islamophobia, dealing with internal/external strife, and fear of the other.
“The hope has always been to create conversation,” says Kirk, who sought out Christian, Muslim and Jewish consultants to help him research the artwork and, more personally, to learn about the feelings and experiences of others. “A conversation between all people—believers and non-believers—who find themselves in conflict. How can we better understand and empathize with each other? Everyone has a unique background, point of view, and experience, and at the same time, many experiences are universal. Focusing on what knits us together, rather than what pulls us apart, is a place to start.”
Audience members can knit during The Knitting Pilgrim if they are so inclined—Kirk has yarn and needles to give out onstage. People can also Bring Their Own Knitting (#BYOK). Kirk eventually plans to use the audience’s knitting to make a giant Moebius Strip, a curiously paradoxical object that has significance in the play.
For audience members who want to know more about the iconography of the Stitched Glass knitted tapestries themselves, Kirk and Claire produced a digital interview/podcast series called The Knitting Pilgrim Talks. In each episode, Kirk talks with an expert about the theme of one section of a tapestry. The series airs on Youtube and all the podcast places, ideal for audiences who want to know more.
The Knitting Pilgrim comes to Bradford Cathedral on Wednesday 7th May at 7pm. Tickets are £10 (+ booking fee) and can be booked at https://the-knitting-pilgrim.eventbrite.co.uk/