The Knitting Pilgrim

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-minute meet and greet.

The audience is welcomed by Kirk Dunn, knitting in front of three large projection screens. He offers to teach them how to knit—on stage are baskets of yarn and needles so they can knit along if they like—as he tells the story of his life as an actor, churchgoer, and knitter, and how, prompted by the tragedy of 9/11, he decided to knit a triptych of tapestries, in the style of stained-glass windows, exploring the commonalities and conflicts of the Abrahamic faiths.

The screens are used for image and video projection, including short bits of dialogue from Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders who add their perspectives to his journey. At times comedic, at times soulful and spiritual but never preachy, Kirk explores the rise of xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and fear of ‘the other,’ and how social media pours gasoline on the fire.

He talks about the ups and downs of what became a remarkable 15-year journey to complete the tapestries, his doubt in his art, questioning his right to address interfaith issues, and the effect of the pilgrimage on his marriage and family.

As the show ends, Kirk has—in his humble way 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.

Kirk pulls down the screens to reveal the magnificent, one-of-a-kind knitted tapestries that need to be seen to be believed. 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.