The reviews are in for Hidden, the dance-circus show from Motionhouse that opened its London premiere run at Sadler’s Wells East on 27 October. Conceived and directed by Kevin Finnan, it sends a company of seven through two acts, a descent into darkness and a search for the light, on and around two triangular climbing frames designed by Simon Dormon, with projections of London life behind them. Three critics give it five stars. Every one of them is struck by the strength, nerve and trust of the performers. The difference is pace: LondonTheatre1 and The Reviews Hub both find the first act overlong, and for The Reviews Hub the stunts pile up until they cancel each other out.
4.5 / 5 from 5 criticsThe verdict: five reviews of the London run, all of them rated: three five-star notices, one at four and one at three and a half, an average of 4.5 out of 5. The praise for the performers is unanimous. The doubts are about structure, and they come from the two lower scores, which both find the first act too long.
What are critics saying about Hidden?
The Spy in the Stalls
“a deeply moving response to this age of anxiety”
Reviewer: Giles Broadbent
Broadbent reads Hidden as a statement that the need for connection will carry people through whatever threatens them, and he found it genuinely moving. The writing is at its most vivid when he describes the company:
“Yearning is made flesh, the need for community becomes a thrilling and disfiguring electric surge through the body.”
He singles out two scenes: two men wary of a light and of each other, and two women tearing their way out of plastic sacs. He calls the whole thing transcendent.
theatrereviews.design
“treat yourself to a night of amazement at what human beings can do”
Reviewer: Richard Lambert
Lambert finds it the kind of evening that reminds him why London is worth the expense. He prefers the second half, when the frames become a steep ramp:
“It’s edge-of-your-seat dance, since everything is choreographed to the musical nuances.”
He picks out Llewelyn Brown as fearless and admires how cleanly the moves flow into each other. His one grumble is a duet in which two men play with a light, an idea he finds overfamiliar.
Everything Theatre
“Breathtaking power, elegance, and vulnerability”
Reviewer: Sheilina Somani
Somani rates it “Unmissable” and is warm about every department, from the projections to the score by Tim Dickinson and Sophy Smith. Her summary is unequivocal:
“A spectacularly visceral production, Hidden is polished, professional and profound in every motion.”
She praises the company’s stamina and mutual trust, the way the frames both hold up and hem in the dancers, and the tender moments in the second act, helped by Andrew Hammond’s lighting.
LondonTheatre1
Reviewer: Fiona Gilbert
Gilbert enjoys the opening projections of everyday London, the sequence in which performers seem to step off an Underground train, and the escape from plastic wrapping. Of the company she writes:
“this is an extraordinary display of strength, agility, power and beauty by the seven-strong cast”
Her reservations are that the first half repeats itself and runs long, and that the digital backdrop is used less as the evening goes on. She still judges it well worth seeing.
The Reviews Hub
“Loses its balance”
Reviewer: Maryam Philpott
The coolest notice. Philpott salutes the near-superhuman effort of the cast but finds the first act overlong and ponderous, and Dormon’s set as much a burden as an asset, forever being hauled into position. The second act is tighter, yet the tricks keep stacking up:
“there are so many big moments they start to cancel each other out”
She ends by noting that the dancers are exhausted by the close, and so is the audience.
Production photographs by Dan Tucker.
For more dance this autumn, read our roundups of Tellus and Jess & Morgs: Deepfake, which also played Sadler’s Wells East, and of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake at Sadler’s Wells.
Motionhouse: Hidden runs at Sadler’s Wells East until 31 October 2026.
For more information, visit the official website.
