Chatting to the team behind Aliens ahead of their Edinburgh Fringe run. Let’s find out more about what audiences can expect to see.
When and where are you performing at the Fringe this year?
We are performing at Main House at ZOO Southside from the 18th to the 30th of August (no show on 24th August).
What was the inspiration for your show?
Digging into our own personal story — as an Italian mother and a Northern Irish born daughter — we went on a road trip retracing the journey that Italians took between the two wars to emigrate to Belfast. We filmed and recorded all the way in a documentary-style approach, and we came back with a story of borders and belonging, of nostalgia and newcomers, that resonates strongly with our world today.
When did you first step on the stage as a performer?
We both studied at the international theatre school “Jacques Lecoq” in Paris, though nearly 30 years apart. It’s a fairly unique situation, considering that I met Marta’s dad at the same school — so we can say it’s a bit of a “family affair.” Marta grew up watching my performances in Italy, and she acted for the first time at 10 in a show I directed. Now I attend as a spectator all the shows she is creating with a number of young theatre companies. There is the question of transmission, of course, but also all the innovation my daughter is leading me through.
What is the best piece of advice about working in theatre you have received?
Talent is important and necessary, but it is not enough. Only those who are utterly stubborn and hard-working manage to stay in this game for a long time. That was the advice from my theatre professor. The other, from a Chilean theatre director I worked with: be true.
Who or what inspired you to take to the stage?
From a young age, I always wanted to put on shows with my cousins. Pretending to be someone else was my favourite game — I just keep playing. As for Marta, my daughter, I suppose she simply grew up in it.
Who is your target audience?
We are aiming at people of any age who are asking themselves questions about borders, identities, and conflicts around the world. We also strongly recommend the show for lovers of documentary film, as it’s a kind of “live road-trip film,” performed on stage. It’s a show that will resonate with mothers and daughters trying to love and accept each other’s boundaries and borders as much as they can.
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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