Four bodies move through an ever-changing landscape. They are constantly on the move, in search of a place that is still unfamiliar to them. With each step, they lose themselves, merge with something unknown, and once again encounter — in different forms — what they thought they had left behind.

In the music theatre performance Pilgrimage, composer Siebe Thijs brings a contemporary pilgrimage to the stage. A journey that vibrates on the threshold between the individual and the collective: the moment when the community rises above the self. The piece explores the tension between self-interest and shared responsibility in an era increasingly turned inward.

Pilgrimage invites us to pause and acknowledge the other, to rediscover travel as an act of encounter. A rhythm of staying and departing, of connection and release — all within a single movement. Together with Ferenc Balcaen, Junior Akwety, and a diverse artistic team, various forms of interaction and collectivity are explored. Drawing from John Dowland’s 1612 song cycle A Pilgrimes Solace, Thijs creates a new musical entity performed live by four musical performers. They play not only instruments, but also bodies and sculptures — sometimes alone, sometimes together, for themselves or for one another.

Siebe Thijs (1999, he/him) is a composer and creator. He has composed for, among others, I SOLISTI, Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, Muziektheater Transparant, Zonzo Compagnie, Musica, Muziekzomer Gelderland, Strings&Noise (AT), and Kunsthalle Mannheim (DE). In recent years, his work has been performed in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, and Luxembourg. Fascinated by sound and its layers of meaning — as well as by social themes — he continuously questions the role of the instrument, the human body, and their interrelations. Alongside composing for the concert hall, he focuses on creating interdisciplinary projects such as installations and music theatre. Siebe studied composition at the Royal Conservatories of Ghent and Antwerp, and at the Kunstuniversität Graz (Austria), with Bram Van Camp, Wim Henderickx, and Clemens Gadenstätter.