Hunger, a new play by the collective Radical Evolution, a theatre ensemble co-founded and co-run by Dramaturgy alum Meropi Peponides '13, will be presented by Soho Rep as part of a three-play cycle, The Hunger Cycle, in their 2027–2028 Season. The Hunger Cycle will be a premiere of three new works prompted by and seeking to contend with the question of “What are we hungry for?” The hope of the programming is to contend with material, emotional, and moral forms of nourishment in contemporary life. The cycle will include three new plays: The Potluck by César Alvarez, Feast for the Dead by Madeline Easley, and Hunger by Radical Evolution. During a time of economic precarity and constriction, this programming is particularly ambitious. “Soho Rep has long been driven by the ambitions of its artists. Those ambitions have frequently led our artists into direct confrontation with the complex systems that govern our society,” said Soho Rep’s artistic director Eric Ting in American Theatre Magazine.
Hunger invites audiences to challenge and interrogate physical, spiritual, and communal hunger as a means of reconnection with other people and the natural world. The narrative of this play demonstrates an attempt to heal our relationship to the natural world. “With this project, we dive deep into the meaning of hunger in all its forms, how it informs and is informed by the myths and fables we tell ourselves, and what it can look like for the many different versions of ourselves to seek satisfaction,” Hunger creators, including Anooj Bhandari, Jei Lawerence, Joya Powell, and Peponides, said in a joint statement for American Theatre Magazine.
Meropi Peponides is a theater maker, dramaturg, podcast producer, writer and co-founder of Radical Evolution, and the 2026 co-creative director of the 2026 Under the Radar Festival, along with Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theatre Mark Russell. Her work explores cross-cultural affinity and seeks to disrupt cultural hierarchies by drawing inspiration from BIPOC and nonwestern traditions. From 2014 to 2023, she served as the Producer and then co-Director of Soho Rep, where she produced 18 Off-Broadway productions, mostly world premieres, which were awarded the Pulitzer Prize, Lucille Lortel Award, and numerous OBIE Awards. Peponides has worked with organizations like The Foundry Theatre, The Movement Theatre Company, and The Public Theater. While at Columbia, she was a Dean’s Fellow.
Read more about The Hunger Cycle here.
