It's nice to have a secret.

Gio, who has never felt accepted by anyone - not by parents, teachers or peers - decides to disappear and hide out in a secluded cave. When his popular classmate Mirko discovers him, Gio enlists him as an accomplice, convincing him to preserve his secret despite the media frenzy over his disappearance. The boys embark on an unexpected journey towards self-discovery and acceptance, setting in motion a series of dramatic consequences.

The play shines a light on bullying, homophobia and the power of social media, exploring how discriminatory voices can deeply impact young minds. It highlights how being yourself is still a risky proposition in our society when it comes to sexual orientation and independent thought. Tobia Rossi's Hide and Seek is a moving and darkly entertaining play that pits two teenage boys against each other in the face of the contagious prejudice of their small Italian town.

This edition was published to coincide with the production at London's Park Theatre in March 2024.

Tobia Rossi is an Italian playwright and screenwriter. He works with the main Italian and Milanese theatres and his recent works include: Il Principe dei sogni belli (2020) for Teatro Due di Parma; Garbo (2021) for Abbecedario per il mondo nuovo; participation in the programme for Piccolo Teatro, Milan, and I Signori dell'Universo (2021), Centro Teatrale Bresciano. Tobia wrote the libretto for the opera Troposfera (2016), Venice Biennale Musica, and the musical The Prince of Air (2019), showcased at Her Majesty's Theatre, London. Awards include: the honorable mention at the Hystrio Scritture per la Scena_35 Award for La cosa brutta (2016) and the Mario Fratti Award for Hide and Seek (2018)(Nascondino), premiering in New York at the Tank Theater in 2022 and in London at VAULT Festival, in 2023.

Carlotta Brentan is a New York-based bilingual theater artist specialising in the development of brave, challenging new plays as a director, actor, producer and translator. Stage highlights: World Premieres of Frank J. Avella's Lured, based on real events of anti-gay persecution in Russia (performed and co-directed, sold-out runs at Theater for The New City in NYC and OnStage! Festival in Rome), Avella's Vatican Falls about the Catholic church sex abuse scandal (performed and co-directed, The Tank NYC), Paolo Bignami's The Journey I Never Made (performed and translated from Italian, Cherry Lane Theatre NYC), Erik Ehn's Clover (La MaMa Experimental Theater Club NYC). Carlotta has collaborated on the development of Tobia Rossi's play Hide and Seek since 2019 as translator and director in both NYC and London, and continued on for its March 2024 Park Theatre run. Carlotta is also a film actor, prolific voiceover artist & award-winning audiobook narrator of over 170 novels.