Over the past year, things at HIDden have changed somewhat. Our co-founder Suzanne Fatta has moved on to new projects (and is doing amazing things in Buffalo, New York). We’ve welcomed new faces- our producer, Ian Murphy, and production manager, Nathan Bargate, came on board following last year’s very successful ‘Baptism’ in York, and their work is helping to move HIDden forward in more ways than I can count.

But the change that will become the most apparent in weeks to come is that we are making an attempt to move out of the Middle Ages. We’ve always intended to look at drama from various time periods, and we’re really starting to do so. We’re also engaging more with newer works about the past.

This may seem like a bit of a departure for a company that has primarily produced medieval plays thus far, but it really isn’t. The HIDden team has always found drama to be an excellent window into stories of times gone by… and what time doesn’t have its interesting stories and characters? We don’t want to limit ourselves, or what we bring to our audiences. It’s a bit of a challenge to me personally, as a medieval drama specialist, because that’s my comfort zone, but I think we’re all enjoying the opportunities that a broader historical and dramatic perspective offers. It’s easy to get into a cosy niche and stay there, but it limits your ability to grow creatively, and that’s a huge part of what the arts are about. Broadening our horizons means we’ll be able to bring fresher eyes to any play we’re working on.

If you’re a medieval enthusiast, don’t worry, we won’t be leaving the Middle Ages entirely. At present, we’re working on some possible medieval merriment with the amazingly talented ladies of Timeline Songs, whose speciality is the music of the times. But we’re also developing a production with Lola Wingrove about late-Victorian working-class theatre, and we’re reading through some interesting new scripts from a variety of places and times. Broadening our horizons… bringing you more interesting productions… it’s all grist to this ever-engaging mill!