Meet the creative team behind The Pitchfork Disney at King's Head Theatre

Announced as part of King’s Head Theatre’s Autumn 2025 season, the play’s creative team will be led by director Max Harrison, alongside designer Kit Hinchliffe, lighting designer Ben Jacobs, and sound designer Sam Glossop, among others. 

Lidless Theatre continue their creative partnership with Philip Ridley following their productions of Ridley’s Moonfleece (Pleasance Theatre), Tender Napalm (King’s Head Theatre) and Leaves of Glass (Park Theatre, OFFIE Award winner for Best Performer), with the latter breaking box office records and returning for a second sell-out run. 

Director Max Harrison is Co-Artistic Director of Lidless Theatre, and previously directed their hit productions of Ridley’s work. Max’s productions have received six OFFIE nominations, as well as an OFFIE Award for Best Performer. Recent work includes Associate Director on West End Olivier nominated production of Waiting for Godot.

Joining him will be Lidless’ other Artistic Director Kit Hinchliffe as designer. Alongside Lidless’ productions, her work includes Tarantula (Arcola Theatre), The Journey to Venice (Finborough Theatre), The Poltergeist (Arcola), Mapping Gender (BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Cambridge Junction and The Place), and Boys (Barbican Centre).

Lighting design is by Ben Jacobs, who recently won the 2025 Olivier Award for his work on Oliver! in the West End. Jacobs has also been nominated for the Off West End Award for Best Lighting Design four times, as well as winning the award in 2018 and 2022.

Completing the creative team is sound designer Sam Glossop, whose credits include Home (Minerva, Chichester Festival Theatre), The Importance of Being Earnest (Royal Exchange, Manchester); Instructions For A Teenage Armageddon (Garrick Theatre, West End).

Ridley’s first professional stage play, The Pitchfork Disney, premiered at Bush Theatre on 2 January 1991 and was instrumental in launching the ‘in-yer-face’ theatre movement. A dark and unsettling play, The Pitchfork Disney follows the relationship of two siblings and an encounter they have with an unexpected visitor. 

Philip Ridley said today, “I’m so thrilled and honoured that my play, The Pitchfork Disney, is to be seen at the wonderful King's Head Theatre. And in the hands of the truly remarkable theatre company, Lidless Theatre, who have done several of my plays, including Leaves of Glass at the Park last year, and Tender Napalm at the King's Head in 2021. People often ask me what The Pitchfork Disney is about. I tell them it's about fear. And fear. And fear. And fear. And fear. It seems an apt time to be doing the play.”