This Review Originally Published As Part of Our Coverage of Fantasia 2021
A group of bus drivers from Wimborne, Dorset in the UK put on an amateur stage production of Ridley Scott’s Alien in Alien on Stage. Paranoid Dramatics is an amateur theatre group consisting of Dorset Bus Drivers. In a departure from the group’s usual family pantomimes, scriptwriter Luc decides to write an adaptation of the film Alien, spurred on his fandom of the film. Directed by Luc’s stepdad Dave and starring his mother Lydia as Ripley, the theatre group works hard on the play, complete with homemade costumes and props. After a lacklustre opening in Dorset, the group receives a chance of a lifetime when they receive an offer to do a crowdfunded performance in London’s West End.
Alien on Stage is a documentary by filmmakers Danielle Kummer and Lucy Harvey, who were among the meagre 20 people in the crowd for the play’s original performance at the Allendale Centre in Wimborne, Dorset. The end result was not only this documentary but a crowdfunding campaign to stage this adaptation of Alien for one night only at the Leicester Square Theatre in London’s West End Theatre District. The documentary follows these bus drivers, turned actors as they prepare for the biggest performance of their lives.
Alien on Stage is a feel-good story about how these groups of Dorset Bus Driver managed to bring their little community theatre production of Alien to the masses. Much of the second half of this documentary consists of highlights from the London performance and it’s quite impressive how well the DIY props and effects come across. If you are a fan of other films turned into theatre productions, Evil Dead: The Musical comes to mind, then Alien on Stage is a documentary worth checking out.
Alien on Stage is streaming beginning on October 14th, 2021 as part of the virtual 2021 Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Related Links
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- Theatre Thoughts: Night of the Living Dead Live
- Theatre Thoughts: Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play
