★★★★✰
Alien, as classic a science fiction story as they come, has been followed up by an endless slew of sequels, crossovers, and spin-offs. It is not, however, a film you would consider ripe for a theatrical adaptation—least of all a theatrical adaptation made by some bus drivers from Dorset. Except this is exactly what the Paranoid Dramatics have done with Alien on Stage. This plucky creative endeavour is captured with much heart and soul by directors Danielle Kummer and Lucy Harvey.
This amazing story sees an amateur dramatics group from a small town bring their incredible idea to life. They do it so well that they are invited for a special one-off performance on the West End, set up courtesy of Kummer and Harvey making use of their connections in London. The group then have the pressure of performing to a sell-out crowd for one night only, despite having no professional acting experience and using set and props all completely made from scratch.
Healthy amounts of cheesy humour early on let you fully embrace the unmistakably British, low-key setting. The everyday, hum-drum life of the cast contrasts in every way with Alien’s stratospheric sci-fi credentials. Yet when Kummer and Harvey stumble across the show pretty much by chance, they seize the opportunity to turn what could have been a forgettable oddity of Dorset’s cultural scene into a chance for these local bus drivers to showcase their talents to the world. Still, through either a genuine love of the show or a kind of sympathetic disbelief, the directors seem bewildered by what they have stumbled on. From the beginning, however, the pair make clear why this is a story worth telling (Alien on Stage, incidentally, is also a great look at just how much work goes into keeping amateur dramatics afloat). They tap into the love of film and entertainment that almost everybody has, and show how this drives people to fully embrace their passions—as ridiculous or even impossible to realise as those passions may seem.
When it comes to the big night, Alien on Stage really comes into its own. Closely following the cast around claustrophobic corridors, you feel as if you are about to step out onto the stage yourself. Courtesy of some intelligent edited sequences, too, you feel the cast’s anticipation and nerves on a remarkably acute level. The difficulties and the tensions are never skipped over (“we’re bus drivers. We’re allowed to cock things up”), but the lack of any major fallouts helps to maintain the film’s promise as an enjoyable, fascinating riot of a documentary. The entire cast and crew manage to become instant icons despite much of them going through the film without much of a backstory, really adding to the everyman feeling of the group that makes it out to be such an underdog triumph.
And the performance itself, or what you see of it at least, is something to behold. Alien is a sincere, provoking sci-fi masterpiece, but here it is adapted into an adult pantomime with the cult fever you would expect from a production of Rocky Horror. Complete with British mannerisms and many jokes prompted by the DIY approach, it merits far more than an endearing smile. You will be giggling and laughing your way throughout as the cast flounce and flounder through a stage production like no other. It is absolutely glorious.
The big question—never answered—is just why everybody is even bothering to do this. You could have easily asked the same question during the production of Alien itself. The answer, as true then as it is now, is simply because they want to. Alien on Stage is an affectionate reminder to dive headfirst into your passions, even if to others they seem out of this world.
The Verdict
Alien on Stage finds joy, humour, and life in the ever-present drive to be creative, celebrating art’s social and mental releases as well as art for its own sake. And as with all worthwhile takes on and spawns of Alien, you will fall in love with Ridley Scott’s seminal classic all over again.
Alien on Stage is currently screening as part of the Fantasia Film Festival 2021.
Words by James Hanton
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