Over more than 30 years Motionhouse has built up its reputation for shows featuring thrilling choreography and breathtaking leaps and this new show Hidden is firmly in that ballpark.

Company co-founder and artistic director Kevin Finnan is the lead choreographer but he also credits assistant director Daniel Massarella and the dancers as co-choreographers on the production.

Hidden aims to explore and encapsulate the idea that people are better together – that when crisis comes we can turn to others and they will help us and even save us.

So at the beginning we see individual characters trying to cope with life – one is alone in the middle of a busy city, another is physically isolated as he plays computer games, a couple only have eyes for each other. But through the course of the work these individuals increasingly rely upon each other both emotionally and physically.

By the end the characters are so combined they move as one body with writhing limbs making it difficult to distinguish which arms or legs belong to which, they have come together as a whole.

Along the way there are various musings on this interdependence with scenes in which a character falls from a height and will only be safe if those underneath catch them. Or one holds the only light on stage in constant illumination on their partner. Or two dancers are trapped in giant plastic wrap until one can rescue the other.

The highly skilled seven performers capture these moments with raw intensity and achieve countless feats of dance and acrobatics which deserve rounds of applause in themselves.

At times the message is clear and at others it is more obscure but different audiences will find meanings in different ways. The episodic nature of the piece would also allow for excerpts of it to be performed at festivals or other settings in the future.

As with previous Motionhouse shows, the sets are integral to the choreography. Designed and created by Simon Dorman, the first act’s set fills the stage with two large metal frames which the dancers constantly shift, dancing with them, on them and under them.

At the beginning these frames are covered by cloth which provides a screen for some brilliant projection created by a team comprising Logela Multimedia and Barret Hodgson. The images are shown both on the back wall and across the frame screens giving the dancers the opportunity to interact and react to scenes of crowds thronging the streets of London or computer graphics swirling overhead.

We are even taken into the London Underground so that at times it feels like we are ascending or descending the giant escalators or being transported on a physical journey.

In the second act the scenery changes to a huge ramp on which the dancers balance with incredible dexterity while also emphasising the need to literally support and hang on to each other.

A score composed by Tim Dickinson and Sophy Smith provides an essential component of the piece as pulsing rhythms reflect the manic rushing of the opening scenes and lyrical strings accompany the more languorous or tender moments.

The production’s second act is much shorter than the first at a half hour and hour respectively and the entire audience was asked to leave the auditorium at the interval which is timed for 30 minutes so be advised, you might want to pre-order a drink for the break!

Hidden is an ambitious work which demands a great deal from its dancers. An interesting reflection is that if you are dependent on your fellow performers to ensure your safety when you dance then as a company you are providing that support and resilience which Hidden aims to celebrate.

Four stars

Hidden was reviewed by Diane Parkes at Warwick Arts Centre on Thursday 6 February, where it shows until 9 February. It then visits Birmingham Hippodrome on 10-11 October.