It’s the play Shakespeare would have written in the 1980s or James Cameron would have directed in the 1680s, Cassandra Hart and Rob Lloyd presents the South Australian premiere of Shakespeare Aliens at the 2023 Adelaide Fringe.
Thirty-five years after James Cameron’s Aliens first appeared in cinemas, pop culture aficionados – nerds – Rob Lloyd (Who Me, The Mighty Little Puppets) and Keith Gow (Who Are You Supposed to Be, Sonnigsburg) are recreating the film: mounted as if it was a history play written by the Bard himself.
Audiences will re-live the tension, frights, scares and sly commentary on capitalism from the original film, while accompanying Ripley and the marines to an outpost that has been picked clean of colonists by Ripley’s most potent nightmares.
Directed by Rob Lloyd, a diverse cast of nine actors along with three puppeteers will tell the tale of dreams, nightmares, soldiers and Queens, as Ripley and the marines come face-to-face with the iconic alien creatures in front of your eyes.
Imagine when we talk of space, you see stars
Imagine when you see one alien, you see fifty
Imagine if we had a bigger budget…
The cast includes Cassandra Hart (Caligula, Owl and the Albatross) as hero Ellen Ripley, non-binary actor Lore Burns (Early Days) as love-interest Hicks, comedian Danny McGinlay (Utopia, The Merger) as the slimy Carter Burke, First Nations performer Zac Rose (The Tangent) as Sergeant Apone and Seon Williams (The Deep Freeze Option, Two Gents) as Vasquez.
Award-winning puppet maker Donna Prince (The Beast) has recreated the iconic Xenomorph aliens, the face-huggers and the Alien Queen, to be operated by top-notch puppeteers. Sound design will be realised by Sandro Falce (Triple J Unearthed).
First presented at Theatre Works as part of the Mullet Festival in January 2022, Shakespeare Aliens is an affectionate satire of the 1986 movie, written in blank verse, with a rhyming couplet here or there, honouring two great masters of popular culture.
“A glorious night in the theatre, where the show and the audience completely bonded” – Anne-Marie Peard, Triple R
Shakespeare Aliens
Goodwood Theatre & Studios, 166 Goodwood Road, Goodwood (Adelaide)
Season: 28 February – 5 March 2023
Information and Bookings: www.adelaidefringe.com.au
Image: Shakespeare Aliens (supplied)