Donnacha Dennehy's The Hunger concerns itself with the Great Irish Famine of 1845–52, which transformed Irish society irrevocably, resulting in the loss of approximately one million people to death and another million to emigration. Asenath Nicholson, an American so moved by the waves of immigrants arriving in New York that she travelled to Ireland to bear witness. Her astonishing first-hand, published account, “Annals of the Famine in Ireland,” is The Hunger’s main narrative thread. Featuring vocialists Katherine Manley and Iarla O'Lionáird.
The Hunger will be presented alongside Eartheater's When Fire is Allowed to Finish by Queens-based artist Alexandra Drewchin (A.K.A. Eartheater), creating an evening of music centered around historical accounts of personal loss. Eartheater distills foley-filled digital production and classical composition into works suspended between reckless romanticism and precisely detailed sonic tapestries. When Fire is Allowed to Finish is comprised of six emotionally charged movements arranged by composers Aaron Parker, Steve Snowden and Conrad Winslow.