HIDden is made up of a close-knit group of people who love theatre and history. All of us contribute a variety of talents, skills and expertise, which goes into making our productions special. The HIDden Theatre production team is made up of:

Artistic Director: Laura-Elizabeth Rice

Laura-Elizabeth Rice has been in love with the theatre and history since childhood, when her family performed together for many years with the Niagara Theatre Group in America. Laura divided her university career between majoring in theatre at American University for two years, during which she acted as director and stage manager for several productions, before moving on to complete a degree in history at Trinity University in Washington, DC. She subsequently worked at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre for a season.

In 2006 a medieval archaeology MA brought her to York, where she focused on the modern revivals of the York Mystery Plays. From 2006-2010 Laura worked as an actor, designer, and director for several productions with the Lords of Misrule, including The Transfiguration for Lords/2010 York Mystery Plays, which gave rise to the founding of HIDden Theatre. During the 20teens, in addition to HIDden, Laura worked backstage with productions for companies including Re:Verse Theatre, York Stage Musicals, and York Theatre Royal, and in 2016 she completed a PhD at the University of Bristol on medieval drama in the 1951 Festival of Britain. She hopes to spend the rest of her life finding ways to merge her two passions for history and theatre and share them with the world.

Head of Production & Facilities: Nathan Bargate

Nathan Bargate has been involved in theatre since he was a teenager. His formal debut was as assistant stage electrician for the York Mystery Play 2012, after which he served as sound production assistant for York’s major street-performance production, Blood & Chocolate. He has numerous technical credits from York Theatre Royal, York Grand Opera House, and Joseph Rowntree Theatre, as well as places further afield. Nathan holds an Extended Diploma in Production Arts and went on to earn a BA in Live Events Production at Backstage Academy. An extremely busy freelancer, Nathan works around the country on technical installation and technical management for both theatre and the events industry. In addition to his role for HIDden as production manager, he is also the webmaster and lighting designer.

Producer: Ian S. Murphy

Ian is a seasoned theatre professional with over a decade’s experience backstage, predominantly in Stage Management and Technical roles, in theatre.  Throughout their career they have worked at venues ranging from regional theatres (including York Theatre Royal and Chichester Festival Theatre) to the West End (with shows including Player Kings, starring Ian McKellen, and Mischief Theatre’s Christmas Carol Goes Wrong).  They have applied their skills on small scale children’s theatre visiting schools with Tutti Frutti, mid-scale opera productions with OperaUpClose, large touring musicals such as Burlesque The Musical, and outdoor events including RISE (the opening for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture by Steven Frayne, formerly known as Dynamo).  Ian first worked with HIDden as Set Construction Leader for The Baptism for the 2014 York Mystery Plays and permanently joined the team the following autumn.  Outside of theatre, Ian is a Parish Councillor for the York village of New Earswick.