The aliens
"...a thoughtful, gentle exploration of friendship and self... The Aliens looks compassionately on those who don’t quite fit in but find at least a little comfort with each other."
Wellingtonista
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Jasper (Jonny Potts) and KJ (Jack Sergent-Shadbolt) sit outside the back of a café. They’re musicians, or used to be; misfits, artists, social dropouts - and perhaps geniuses. To 17-year-old Evan (Dryw McArthur) they seem incredible. The two vagrants take him under their wing, introducing him to music, shrooms and Bukowski.
Poster Design by Hadley Donaldson. Photography by Roc+ Photography. Written by Annie Baker Directed by Cassandra Tse KJ - Jack Sergent-Shadbolt Jasper - Jonny Potts Evan - Dryw McArthur Production Manager - Beth Taylor Set Design - Isadora Lao Lighting Design - Rowan McShane Lighting Consultant - Jennifer Lal Composer - Maxwell Apse Stage Manager - Sam Tippet Marketing Manager - James Cain Directing Intern - Patrick McTague |
"[The writing is] so profound – so perfect – that to just deliver it would almost be enough. But director Cassandra Tse and the talented cast know that the real magic is in the spacing and phrasing; the placing of the words and the pacing of the lines. For as we find out more about each character we see and then feel levels of vulnerability.... The humanity in and of this play all but bursts from the stage. It’s the finest kind of heartbreak. And it’s a must-see piece of local theatre. Truly a brilliant amalgam of the write cast and crew putting a genius-level script in to place." - Simon Sweetman, Off The Tracks
"Each scene offers a subtle exploration of what it means to be a young man in America...an insight into a small piece of modern America's patchwork." - Marcus Stickley, The Dominion Post
"The denouement is as moving as it is surprising.... The Aliens combines brilliant writing with brilliant directing by Cassandra Tse, and brilliant acting. Effective lighting (Rowan McShane), evocative music (Maxwell Apse)... serve to add to the pleasure of watching consummate skills at work." - Margaret Austin, Theatreview
"Each scene offers a subtle exploration of what it means to be a young man in America...an insight into a small piece of modern America's patchwork." - Marcus Stickley, The Dominion Post
"The denouement is as moving as it is surprising.... The Aliens combines brilliant writing with brilliant directing by Cassandra Tse, and brilliant acting. Effective lighting (Rowan McShane), evocative music (Maxwell Apse)... serve to add to the pleasure of watching consummate skills at work." - Margaret Austin, Theatreview
