“If you wanted to hold me. If you wanted to hold me. Hold me and tell me it’s okay”
Skin Hunger is about the power of touch - a vital aspect of humanity that so many of us didn’t realise we needed until it was restricted.
Written by Ann Akinjirin, Tim Crouch and Sonia Hughes Skin Hunger is a powerful live theatre experience which explores the fundamental role that touch plays in our lives, with refreshing humour and insight.
OFFIES WINNER 2022: IDEA Performance
Inspired by the plastic hug tunnels in Brazilian care homes, Dante or Die’s Artistic Directors devised a one-on-one performance exploring the role of touch in our lives. Skin Hunger gathers the writing of pioneering playwrights Ann Akinjirin, Tim Crouch & Sonia Hughes, along with reflections from the creative team, a foreword from a neuroscientist specialising in touch, and images from the original production that took place in a hidden chapel in London’s West End.
"My cheek is folded into his neck. He’s speaking into my ear and I can feel his chest rising and falling against me. This hug is long, gentle, intimate and alien. Thanks to the huge sheet of plastic squeezed between us, covering us from head to toe and several feet further, it’s also completely risk-assessed."
– The Guardian
Dante or Die is an award-winning, independent theatre company, led by Daphna Attias & Terry O’Donovan, that has been creating new performances in unexpected places since 2006. You could experience one of their shows in your local leisure centre or café, the self-storage unit down the road, or on your mobile phone. They collaborate with local people, academics and experts to create a distinctive Dante or Die world, telling stories that grapple with knotty topics through intimate, witty and poignant experiences.
@danteordie
www.danteordie.com
“One of the things I love about the work made by Dante or Die is that every project is so different, so surprising and that’s rare.” - Lyn Gardner
Dante or Die makes bold and ambitious site-specific performances that tour across the UK and internationally. We gently transform ordinary spaces to create unique and intimate theatrical experiences.
Led by co-founders Daphna Attias and Terry O’Donovan, our original productions interrogate and celebrate contemporary human stories that take place in everyday buildings - from hotel rooms to swimming pools to cafés.
We have collaborated with leading arts venues across the UK including Traverse Theatre, The Lowry & The Almeida alongside grassroots organisations in the localities in which we make work. Dante or Die are SITELINES Associate Artists at South Street Reading, which champions performances in unusual spaces. We are a registered charity.
