[Theatre & Physical Theatre – Clown – World Premiere – NSW]
What do you follow when faith disappears?
Following the faint footprints of an elusive bull (in the Zen tradition of the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures) PILGRIM is a solo, clown-based physical theatre work that tracing a woman’s pilgrimage in search of lost faith: faith in love, in meaning, or perhaps in belief itself.
Wandering deeper into the birthplace of Western foundational stories, our pilgrim journeys through Rome, Athens and Jerusalem — the great cities of myth, reason and revelation. Guided by unseen forces and ancient questions, she is gently led toward her own spiritual origin, to retrieve something exiled long ago. Blending physical comedy, ritual, and philosophical inquiry, PILGRIM is a timeless quest that asks urgent contemporary questions: What do we believe in now? What stories shape us? And what happens when the old maps no longer work?
Created by an award-winning creative team — performer and writer Kate Walder, composer Max Lyandvert, and designer Michael Hankin — PILGRIM is an intimate theatrical encounter both visually arresting and emotionally resonant. It balances humour and vulnerability with profound spiritual inquiry.
This world premiere marks the latest work from Kate Walder, a director, performer, and writer whose practice centres on the creation of new work across Australia and internationally. A graduate of WAAPA’s Bachelor of Arts (Music Theatre) and École Philippe Gaulier in Paris, Walder has built a distinctive artistic voice that combines rigorous physical technique with emotional openness, curiosity and wit. PILGRIM invites audiences into a shared act of searching — a reminder that even in a fractured world, the journey itself may still hold meaning.
PILGRIM is presented by STEPS & HOLES theatre co , an award-winning multidisciplinary theatre company that draws on the archetype of the fool to spark curiosity, uncover shared truths and unite diverse audiences. We explore robust ideas and generate timeless stories through the intersection of music, movement, text, design and puppetry to create physically dynamic, visually arresting theatre. Our work achieves both intimacy and a sense of the epic and provides space for reflection, ignites the imaginative spirit and awakens our humanity.
Pilgrim (A pilgrim in search of a bull named Carlo) is at Fool’s Paradise (The Lab) at 8.10pm 21 Feb 26 to 1 Mar 26 and at Goodwood Theatre & Studios at various times from 6-8 Mar 26. Click HERE to purchase your tickets.
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