Pilgrimage

Composer Siebe Thijs brings a contemporary pilgrimage to the stage

Four bodies move through a constantly changing landscape. They are perpetually in motion, searching for a place that is still unfamiliar to them. In walking, they lose themselves, fuse with the unknown and encounter afresh, in new guises, what they believed they had left behind.

In the musical theatre performance Pilgrimage, composer Siebe Thijs embarks upon a contemporary pilgrimage to the stage. A journey that trembles on the boundary between the individual and the collective: the moment when the community rises above the individual.

The performance explores the tension between self-interest and shared responsibility in an era that is increasingly turning in upon itself. Pilgrimage invites you to consider others, to once again experience the journey as an encounter. A rhythm of staying and leaving, of touching one another and letting go, all in a single movement.

Together with Ferenc Balcaen, Junior Akwety and a diverse artistic team, Thijs explores different forms of interaction and collectivity. Inspired by John Dowland’s song cycle A Pilgrimes Solace (1612), he creates a new musical entity performed live by four musicians. They play not only musical instruments, but also bodies and sculptures. Sometimes individually, sometimes collectively, for themselves or for others.

Credits

concept, musical direction & composition Siebe Thijs

final direction Ferenc Balcaen

performance Junior Akwety, Arturo den Hartog, Suzan Peeters, Nathalie Van Meirvenne

choreography Bérengère Bodin

scenography & light design Lars Uten

costumes Zazie Bakos

decor Juan Pablo Plazas

external eye Mesut Arslan