A bundle of bedding or clothing flies high above an iron bed on a domestic stage set as two performers at left reach and watch beneath hanging fringe canopies.

Rehearsal Room 1, Milton Court2023

Hidden

The Production

A Guildhall School of Music & Drama BA Acting Studies devised production, developed by the company of the programme delivered with the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. Set around the impact of China’s One Child Policy on a rural family in the 1980s, Hidden was presented at Milton Court in July 2023.

48 photographs in the curated edit

Commissioned by: Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Lighting Design: Holly Ellis
Photography: Steve Gregson

A young performer peers through horizontal blinds in green stage light, one hand raised near the slats.

A performer lies low under an iron bed, crawling toward the front of a green-lit bedroom set.

On a wide stage, a performer in black stands front and center with head tilted back while three others bend low behind them among beds, blinds and baskets.

A performer in black sits tensely on a wooden table with knees raised, while another crouches near a bed in the dim background.

One performer crouches on a wooden table with a hand hovering over a black bowl as another watches closely from the side.

A performer in a black shirt ties a red ribbon into their hair under a warm spotlight.

In blue light, three performers occupy a bedroom-like stage set with an iron bed, laundry rack and metal bin, one raising an arm at the side.

Two performers lean in smiling around a bright-eyed hand puppet, one holding a stick beside it on the bedroom set.

A performer in a colorful blouse holds a wooden spoon toward another performer's mouth as he leans forward over pots on a table.

A performer in a straw hat kneels onstage, concentrating as he balances a long pole over a large wicker basket in a rustic room set.

Two smiling performers crowd together with a wide-eyed puppet perched on one performer’s shoulders beneath layered fringe drapes.

In blue stage light, a performer raises one hand beside a horizontal rod while another is partly hidden inside a tall wooden frame.

Three black-clad performers dance barefoot with long sticks across a domestic stage set under sweeping fringe canopies.

A performer crouches under a cloth-covered table holding a small object while another leans over, lifting the cloth and peering down.

A wide stage tableau shows four performers spaced across a furnished room set, with a puppet on the table and red light washing the overhead fringe.

A distressed performer in a patterned blouse sits in the foreground, with a black-clad performer standing out of focus behind her near an open doorway.

A barefoot performer in black crouches tearfully beside a wooden coat stand with a blue jacket hanging above her.

A black-clad performer lifts a puppet high overhead as another performer leans back with arms raised and mouth open in surprise.

A seated performer in a tan shirt looks upward at the front of the stage while another performer behind the table holds a puppet near cups and papers.

In a warm, cluttered room set, one performer sits at a table with a hand puppet while another stands still in black and a third clutches a cup beside an open wardrobe and bed.

A wide stage view shows a crouching performer at the front edge while others gather around a table and bed under sweeping white fringe canopies.

A performer in layered clothing holds a red bundled doll close to her chest and appears to sing or speak, with a seated performer and puppet blurred at the table behind her.

A performer in a yellow shirt stands bowed in the foreground as others work with a puppet near a table, with a bed and hanging fringe filling the dim stage.

Against a dark red curtain, a smiling performer offers a small cigarette-like prop to a serious performer in a black suit who holds another near his ear.

Beside a metal bed, a performer kneels holding a red bundled doll while another lies on the floor looking up at her with alarm.

A performer tenderly cradles a red bundled doll at center stage while two others react tensely near a door and clothing rack.

Around a table with fruit and metal cups, performers gather with a puppet as one laughing performer holds up a drawing of two simple faces.

A performer balances on a chair and reaches into the overhead white fringe while two others look up from the stage below.

Under green lighting and layered fringe, a performer kneels and reaches upward near an open floor panel while a puppet and its handler watch from beside the bed.

A man in a white shirt tenderly cradles a swaddled bundle while another performer peers from behind a large wooden blind on a dark curtained stage.

A man holds a swaddled bundle beside a worn door as a distressed woman in a stained blouse reaches toward him.

Two performers kneel close together on a sparse bedroom-like stage, their hands pressed over a small box between them in an intense confrontation.

A distressed woman in a pale stained blouse clutches a small object under a spotlight, with baskets and a wooden blind behind her.

A wide stage scene shows a man holding a swaddled bundle, another performer slumped at his feet, and a woman seated apart beneath sweeping fringe-like fabric overhead.

Under red lighting, performers move through a chaotic stage scene: one raises a fist, a woman reaches across him, and a man at the side lifts a swaddled bundle overhead.

In a tense close-up, a woman in a white crop top holds a man's hand as he grimaces, while a puppet and another performer appear behind them.

A man in a yellow shirt clutches a swaddled bundle to his chest, looking alarmed, as other performers move in the background of the messy stage room.

A man bends over a swaddled bundle in his arms with a pained expression, lit by warm red stage light near a metal bedframe.

On a disordered red-lit stage, a kneeling man cries out while clutching a swaddled bundle, as a woman in underwear pulls at the leg of a prone performer nearby.

On a dim, red-lit bedroom set, a woman in pale underwear stands on a metal bed while one performer lies curled on the floor and another kneels crying with a swaddled bundle.

A wide stage view shows layered fringe overhead, a cluttered room set, and several performers spread across the space, including one kneeling with a swaddled bundle and others gathered near a puppet.

A barefoot performer in pale underwear sits on the floor against a wooden door, surrounded by scattered clothing and the edge of a metal bed in low warm light.

Under intense red light, a grimacing performer clutches a swaddled bundle while another holds his arm and covers her mouth in distress.

On a cluttered bedroom-like stage, a performer at left holds a puppet and a drawing, a woman reaches toward a man holding a swaddled bundle, and another person lies facedown beside the bed.

In saturated red and blue lighting, five performers stand spaced across a room set behind low translucent fabric, with beds, a table, a central door, and overhead rigging visible.

Deep blue lighting turns the performers into dark silhouettes across the set, with a glowing red door at center and small red-lit props punctuating the scene.

A musician in glasses plays violin beside hanging gongs and wooden percussion under vivid pink-red stage light, with a microphone suspended overhead.

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Machinal

RADA Studios2023

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