Pilgrim
The Lab at Fools Paradise
Thu 26 Feb, 2026

Kate Walder takes us along on her own personal odyssey, a quest to find love - for herself as much as for life. To do this she must explore the origins of our culture that have shaped our psyche so far. Along with our 'western' stories, she utilises a tradition from the east, the oriental Zen story of 'Ox-herding.' In essence, this is about balancing the yin and yang within us, represented by the duality of the bull and the one who seeks it, finds and eventually tames it.

Kate expands on this by taking it literally to another level. She personifies and genders these parts for the sake of her own journey. Perhaps taking this to these extremes is her take on clowning. There are plenty of other pairs lurking in the lairs of this labyrinthine maze she enters: Eros and Thanos/Thanatos, not to mention his mother, Nyx, the primordial force/deity embodying in herself both light and shadow. Like Kali in Hinduism, she can be both creator and destroyer.To condense so much material into an hour is itself a Herculean task. But one must linger lost for as long as it takes.

Kate immerses herself in these powerful practices in order to develop her own understanding of who she is, and who she may become. Earnestly and honestly she bares her hangups, showing us the circuitous route that led her to take this deep dive into the wisdom of ancient sages. Employing a clever mix of moving miniatures, mime, music, movement, light and shadow-play,

Some songs are included that neatly supplement the action, such as Leonard Cohen's Ballad of the Absent Mare and our Australian Sia's Unstoppable, written by Sia and Christopher Braide. Perhaps here Kate is punning on 'Unstop-a-bull'? Her relentless search leads her down some dead ends before she is able to eventually develop some inner strengths. Like all journeys we must ultimately return home and be re-born as bare as we begin.

Are we doomed to re-enact these rituals like Sisyphus, or to simply to take baby steps each day along the way? How we achieve this, to step out of the shadows and into the light is as individual as each of us are.  And of course, just like this show, the process is ongoing. But these old stories are recorded and passed down for a purpose. They contain the signposts for us all in our collective human condition. In Pilgrim Kate Walder provides some insights on how to read these signs by sharing her own unique path.