About us
Hidden Track is a multi-award winning interactive and game theatre company, pioneering adventures in theatre form that tell accessible political stories to unite and empower unheard audiences.
We experiment with new forms of storytelling, live gaming and audience interaction to bypass the barriers that can exclude audiences from the arts: developing original theatre while delivering real audience care; strong, emotional narratives; and voices that aren’t often heard on a traditional stage.
We endeavour to create work that is accessible to anyone, regardless of background or prior knowledge of theatre. Whoever you are, we want you to feel welcome, comfortable, and entertained.
Since 2011, we’ve created shows for venues in Manchester, London, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Norwich, Liverpool and Oxford; in venues ranging from traditional theatre spaces to alleyways, parks, village greens, and even an abandoned industrial fridge.
We’ve worked with some wonderful companies including Coney, Theatre Deli, Word of Warning, Contact, Hope Street Ltd, Forced Entertainment, Chorlton Arts Festival and more to bring new and exciting work to audiences in and outside the regular crowd.
Our Values
We want to:
- Make work in interesting spaces – no space is off limits
- Reach people that don’t know that they love theatre
- Challenge notions of who theatre is for
- Push the boundaries of audience interaction and gaming in theatre
- Strive to make work that is overtly political
- Create work that is led by audience experience.
- Champion niceness and not not niceness.
- Work collaboratively with our associates, to help shape our work
- Ensure our audience are able to feel comfortable, safe and, above all, have fun
The Team
Hidden Track work with a wide variety of artists with each of our new projects. But our core team are:
Elliot Hughes
Artistic Director
Elliot Hughes is a Mancunian writer, performer and theatre maker; creating work with an unashamedly working-class voice, informed by a childhood raised by a single mother on the poverty line, spent making games, telling stories, and constantly moving house to run away from bailiffs.
Elliot is no longer running away from bailiffs, but never stopped with the games and stories.
Elliot is Hidden Track’s Artistic Director, and has written and co-produced all of their shows to date, which have recieved multiple awards and 5-star reviews.
He has also had work commissioned by organisations including Oldham Colisseum, Theatre Deli and Word of Warning; and worked on projects such as Gorillaz: House of Kong, Jurassic World: The Exhibition, and The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience.
Recently Elliot was chosen as part of Factory International’s prestigious Fellowship programme, which had him working alongside internationally renowned artists, shadowing Manchester International Festival 25, as well as a raft of developing and mentoring support to help him move his practice to the next level.
Elliot is currently writing in the third person. He thinks it makes him sound serious.
Anoushka Bonwick
Associate Director and Co-Founder
Anoushka Bonwick graduated from the University of East Anglia with a degree in Culture, Literature and Politics, and has been directing productions since 2009.
As one of Hidden Track’s co-founders, she has directed many productions, including The Cost of Everything, Drawing the Line, Scavengers, As the Sun Goes Down, How to Win and our multi-award winning show, Standard:Elite.
Other directing credits include: I’m Afraid of Virginia Woolf Too by Coline Atterbury (in development), Anna Iss Mee Hanan by Ajjaz Awad-Ibrahim (R&D, Blackpool Grand Theatre), Generations by Ryan Dre Sinclair (R&D, The Belgrade Theatre), Fridge by Emma Zadow (Hope Theatre)
Assisting credits include: Don’t Call Me China Doll by Diana Feng (UK tour Dir: Francesca Hsieh), Lady Susan by Creation Theatre, (Dir: Helen Eastman, 2025), Mrs Dalloway adapted by Helen Tennison/Creation Theatre, (Dir: Helen Tennison, 2025, London Library and Oxford Library) The Great Regeneration Scheme (R&D Dir: Mark Maughan, Shoreditch Town Hall, 2024), An Attempt to Lose Time by Miranda Prag (International tour)
