Hidden Malvern Theatres, Motionhouse, 13 May 2025, 5☆☆☆☆☆. Review: Hannah Phillips.
Photo Credit: Dan Tucker.
Hidden Malvern Theatres, Motionhouse, 13 May 2025,
5☆☆☆☆☆. Review: Hannah Phillips.
Hidden is co-commissioned by FABRIC, Birmingham Hippodrome and Warwick Arts Centre.
An extensive premiere tour across the UK and Europe, which will be followed by a second tour starting later this year, with touring continuing into 2027 and beyond.
Runs 1 hour 55 minutes including a 25-minute interval for a set change.
“Spectacular bodies defying gravity and taking risk in the safety of each other’s arms.”
Internationally renowned dance-circus company Motionhouse thrilled and moved audiences at Malvern Theatres with their breathtaking new production, Hidden. Thought-provoking and poignant, Hidden explores how, in an increasingly divided world, light can come out of darkness in times of crisis. In recent times when radical-right Reform UK is gaining ground, the courts have rolled back transgender rights and there is conflict and challenge around the world, humanity feels as if it is in a state of crisis. Motionhouse’s Artistic Director, Kevin Finnan offers Hidden as an invitation to reflect on what is important to us in these challenging times we find ourselves in.
In a time of crisis, the arts remind us we are not alone and that we share a universal human experience. We can feel deep emotions together, find connections and collectively create impact and change. Hidden is ambitious, experimental with the physically demanding, breathtaking moments we have become accustomed to with Motionhouse’s work. It would be easy to forget about the incredible skill, strength and talent that each of the dancers possess because it appears effortless. Spectacular bodies defying gravity and taking risk in the safety of each other’s arms.
The set is integral to the work, designed by Simon Dorman, the dancers move the metal structures around the space, using them to climb and jump from, they create endless possibilities and shapes. The structures are covered in fabric for projection purposes, but the film projection created by Logela Multimedia and Barret Hodgson follows the moving structures on stage, creating and moving between new worlds synchronized with the original score by Tim Dickenson and Sophie Smith. Thrilling live performance intersected with an innovative use of film and digital technology; however, it is the human story that prevails. What does it mean to be human in an increasingly digitalized world? This is a show about connection. From individual beings, the dancers become one body, interconnected and fused together. They save each other as they enter the light. We are reminded that we heal through our bodies and we heal through connection with others.
Thank you, Motionhouse!
CONCEIVED AND DIRECTED BY
Kevin Finnan
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Daniel Massarella
CHOREOGRAPHY BY
Kevin Finnan, Daniel Massarella and the cast
PERFORMERS
Alex De La Bastide, Olly Bell, Llewelyn Brown, Dylan Davies, Blair Moore, Sophie O'Leary and Beth Pattison
PRODUCED BY
Louise Richards
SET DESIGN
Simon Dormon
METAL FABRICATION
Davey Boyall and Arcangel
FABRIC WRANGLING
Melanie Nute
ORIGINAL SCORE
Tim Dickinson and Sophy Smith
DIGITAL IMAGERY
Logela Multimedia
VIDEO DESIGN AND DISGUISE PROGRAMMER
Barret Hodgson
CREATIVE CONSULTANT AND CONTENT DEVELOPMENT (FILM)
Leon Finnan
COSTUME DESIGN AND CREATION
Cathy Eddolls
TECHNICAL MANAGER AND LIGHTING DESIGN
Andrew Hammond
ASSOCIATE LIGHTING DESIGNER
Geneviève Giron
D3 OPERATOR AND TOURING TECHNICIAN
George Pamplin
STAGE MANAGER
Will Blundell
CO-COMMISSIONED BY
FABRIC, Birmingham Hippodrome and Warwick Arts Centre
CREATED WITH SUPPORT FROM
John Ellerman Foundation and the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK
HIDDEN WORLD PREMIERE TOUR
Thu 6 – Sun 9 Feb 2025, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry
Fri 14 Feb 2025, Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Tue 25 Feb 2025, Lighthouse, Poole
Sat 1 Mar 2025, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
Sat 15 Mar 2025, Theater Fürstenfeld, Germany
Tue 18 Mar 2025, Burghof Lörrach, Germany
Fri 21 Mar 2025, Teo Otto Theater, Remscheid, Germany
Wed 26 Mar 2025, Parktheater Iserlohn, Germany
Sat 29 Mar 2025, Scharoun-Theater Wolfsburg, Germany
Wed 9 – Sat 12 Apr 2025, Baltoppen LIVE, Ballerup, Denmark
Thu 24 – Sat 26 Apr 2025, New Theatre Peterborough
Fri 2 – Sat 3 May 2025, Theatre Royal Winchester
Tue 13 May 2025, Malvern Theatres
Tue 20 – Wed 21 May 2025, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
Autumn/Winter Tour
Fri 10 – Sat 11 Oct 2025, Birmingham Hippodrome
Wed 15 Oct 2025, Hall for Cornwall, Truro
Thu 6 Nov 2025, Cast, Doncaster