Storyteller Laura Sampson peels back layers of folktale to reveal a very modern take on identity – told in words, sounds and live-drawn visuals.

Mixing make-believe and memoir with colourful soundscapes (Sam Enthoven) and live illustration (Andrea Aste), HIDE is about skin and what lies beneath it.

An ancient East African legend says the power to shed one’s skin came to snakes by mistake: the gods meant it for us. Instead of being able to shuck off old layers – old identities – at will, our human skins layer up and harden into leather. A hide, to hide inside.

Inspired by fairytale, family history and Pure Imagination, HIDE speaks of the challenges Laura faces as a person of mixed heritage, disconnected from one side of her own identity.

Is the story of monster-prince Lindworm, tricked into shedding his hide to reveal the Truth, a way to understand the experiences Laura’s Trinidad-born grandparents left unspoken?

How did ‘where she’s really from’ get lost, and where might she find it?

What’s the cost of a thick skin?

★★★★ ’deeply resonates’ – Fringebiscuit

‘Lexically complex and poetically stunning, this is a great piece of storytelling’  – Binge Fringe Magazine

This show is part of Streatham Space Project’s Between Worlds: Festival of Storytelling (May 24th – June 8th). 

Creative Team

Created + Performed by Laura Sampson

Live drawing + illustration by Andrea Aste

Live Sound by Sam Enthoven