Looking like a set from Blade Runner, lit up with coloured lasers and strobe lighting, the gigantic Paper Factory, out near the airport, is Hidden Door’s most ambitious project yet, and quite possibly it’s final resting place, and why not? This architectural maze is a sprawling series of wide-open spaces, culminating in the cathedral grandeur of The Crane Shed where you have to break your neck to see the ceiling. The Factory Floor is open plan on a vast scale and will take your breath away. Grimy, grungy and littered with looming hulks of dead machines, illuminated from within by carefully placed coloured LEDs, this is a steam punk’s fever dream come to life.
Hidden Door is the Capital’s five-day yearly arts and music festival, known for transforming unique often overlooked spaces into vibrant hubs of music, art and performance. Since the inaugural event in March 2014, previous iconic venues have included the Royal High School, the Old Scottish Widows Building and last year the basement of the new St. James Centre. But none have been as big or as bold as this.
There are plenty of nooks and crannies to lose yourself in here crammed with a wide range of artistic experiences; music ranging from indie and experimental to electronic and classical, as well as dance, spoken word, installation art, performance art and film screenings.
Wandering around the site and all its nooks and crannies, via art installation and giant video screen, we eventually stumble upon our first target for the evening. Guitar totting, diminutive figure, lyrical poet and earnest soul – headliner Alice Faye, whose range-busting voice echoes very pleasingly around the high girders and trusses, the strip roof lights, black bagged to deny the early evening solstice sun. Her stand-out song Jamie beautifully sung, deep-throated to soaring soprano, Joni Mitchellesque.
Perhaps, the individual stages and timetable for performances could be better signposted, but this is not the place for schedules or queues, or comfy seats! you are simply left to discover things for yourselves. So, after a recuperative twenty-minute sit down at The Crane Shed watching the extraordinary farm inspired dancing of Kieran Brown it was by happy accident that me and my twenty-something daughter stumble across the mesmerising Voka Gentle, a fearless trio, from London, whose music just blew us away. Drawn into the Machine Room by the percussive beat, bubbling electronica and verbal gymnastics from lead guitarist/vocalist William J. Stokes accompanied by twins Ellie and Imogen Mason. By the end we were bopping and smiling, their music is euphoric and primal and happy, had us making quick comparisons with Talking Heads and Pink Floyd. The unnamed drummer behind the trio also ripped it up! Their short 45minute set was over far too quickly, we wanted more but we had to run.
The next band are just starting, a five-minute jog along the appropriately named Long Hall through The Link and across the Factory Floor brings us to the Jack Daniels Stage for the extraordinary Tinderbox Orchestra. A fully amplified alternative orchestra accompanied by Rap and spoken word which almost defies description. So unexpected is the combination of Rap with electric orchestral music that it is a quite unforgettable experience. After some sublime collaborations with multiple vocalists, it is all over again over in a heartbeat.
And time to go home, although it is barely 10pm my daughter needs her beauty sleep. I could have stayed all night – literally!
A smorgasbord of talent and a pick-n-mix of audio-visual experiences. Not to be missed!
Reviewer: Greg Holstead
Reviewed: 13th June 2025
North West End UK Rating:
Running time – 7hrs