I always say, you can never have too many dance shows (actually I don’t, but I had to start somehow), which is just as well because last week I had three! This one was different in several ways, the main ones being that it was not concerned with sexual orientation and there doesn’t seem to have been a narrative. Sadly, there were no information sheets available and, on looking a the Motionhouse website, there was precious little information there either. All I could glean was, ‘Thought-provoking and poignant, Hidden explores how, in an increasingly divided world, light can come out of darkness in times of crisis.’
I began by thinking I should make notes but the speed at which the production progressed meant that I had filled four sides within the first few minutes, so I decided to sit back, enjoy the experience and rely on my old man’s memory to write this review.
As it happens I think that that was the best way to go as the show was spectacular, a cross between modern dance, gymnastics and circus act. A video element added to the mix which gave the whole thing an extra dimension. The piece opened with a film displaying cityscapes and parkland on what looked like two flat screens, one in front of the other, but once it got going these screens shape-shifted to show that they were three dimensional and formed some amazing effects.
Later, the screens would be removed from their scaffold-like skeletons to reveal two dancers trapped in clingfilm at the top of the structures, from which they clawed their way out. After several stunts utilising the bare frames, boards were added to create steep slopes on which more of the action took place. I was getting dizzy just watching.
The three women and four men created several human structures from which one would fall or be thrown and, on a couple of occasions, they would stand three high and topple over. The strength and agility was incredible but not as impressive as the trust they put in one another to catch them.
The second half was performed on some more boards which had been made into an unfeasibly steep slope on which dancers balanced their colleagues and carried them up and down, it was much more difficult than it sounds as the gradient was so severe. By the time the show was over, I didn’t care that I wasn’t getting the full message, I was so overawed by the spectacle.
It is difficult to put into words the scale of difficulty involved, so please follow this link where you can find a trailer and see for yourself. You will also the list of performers and creatives. https://www.motionhouse.co.uk/production/hidden/
Hidden, from Motionhouse has moved on from Leeds Playhouse and continues its tour from 12th March https://www.motionhouse.co.uk/tour-dates/ If it is coming somewhere near you, go and have a look, Strictly will never be the same again.
To see what is coming to Leeds Playhouse it is https://www.leedsplayhouse.org.uk/whats-on/
Photographs by Dan Tucker.
Tyke It To The Limit 