“Surprisingly lovable… full of jokes and sudden sympathy… The artist starves but we leave sated.”
TIme Out New York
Nominated for two Drama Desk awards, this darkly comic, visually-striking adaptation of the Kafka story uses physical theater, Victorian miniatures, puppetry, and a set of simple props to support a powerhouse solo performance. A man sits alone in a cage, starving himself for your entertainment. Once cheered by thousands, the Hunger Artist is now forgotten by everyone except his one-time manager.
What begins as a simple nostalgic story transforms into a startlingly inventive trip into the nature of memory, art, performance, and spectatorship.
Winner of Summerhall’s Lustrum Award for Excellence at the Edinburgh Fringe, and nominated for two Drama Desk Awards (Outstanding Solo Performance, Outstanding Puppet Design).
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Production Credits
Performer: Jonathan Levin
Playwright: Josh Luxenberg
Director: Joshua William Gelb
Collaborators: Peiyi Wong (Set and Costume Design), Kate McGee (Lighting Design), M. Florian Staab (Sound Design), Charlie Kanev and Sarah Nolen (Puppet Design), Jonathan Levin (Props and Toy Theater), Ariel Lauryn (Additional Props and Puppets)
Production History
New Ohio Theater 2016, NYC
World Premiere-Connelly Theater June 2017, NYC
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017, Scotland
Baltimore Theatre Project 2017, Baltimore, MD
Heartbeat Ensemble 2018, Hartford, CT
Sandglass Theater’s Puppets in the Green Mountains Festival 2018, Putney, VT
Varscenefest, Halogaland Teater 2019, Tromso, Norway
Connelly Theater 2020, NYC