The Knitting Pilgrim

1 man with questions. 3 huge knitted tapestries. A 15-year search for answers, with funny, moving stories along the way.

The Knitting Pilgrim, which has toured across Canada and to Austria, Germany, and the US, is a one-hour, one-man interdisciplinary show, followed by a 30-45 minute talkback. The audience meets Kirk Dunn as he knits in front of three large projection screens. He welcomes the audience and suggests he teach them how to knit – a gentle entry into a conversation about Kirk’s life as a churchgoer, actor and knitter, and how, prompted by the tragedy of 9/11, he found himself knitting a triptych of tapestries, designed in the style of stained-glass windows, which explore the commonalities and conflicts of the Abrahamic faiths.

On stage are baskets of yarn and needles so the audience can knit along if they like. Kirk tells them that he will eventually use all of the pieces which the audience knit during the tour into a new piece of art to represent people knitted together.

As Kirk’s performance builds, the screens are used for image and video projection, including interviews with Christian, Muslim and Jewish consultants who add their perspectives to his journey. At times comedic, at times soulful and spiritual but never preachy, Kirk intertwines stories of the rise of xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, fear of ‘the other,’ and how social media pours gasoline on the fire.

He also talks about the trials and tribulations of what ended up being a 15-year journey completing the tapestries, his doubt about his art, and questioning his right to address the interfaith issues which plague the world.

At the end of the show, Kirk has—through his humble manner of making no pronouncements and only asking questions—knitted together the strands of his stories to demonstrate that the Abrahamic faiths have more in common than not, and that they all strive for the same thing: peace.

After the faith leaders on the screens wish the audience Peace, Shalom and Assalamu alaikum, Kirk pulls down the screens to reveal the magnificent knitted tapestries, unlike anything else in the world. He invites the audience to come close, take a look, and engage in conversation, not just now, but moving forward, with peace and empathy, in their own lives.

Doors will open at 6:30pm. A bar, selling a selection of drinks and snacks, will be open until around 7:30pm.