In recent years, we’ve seen a resurgence of the anachronistic term ‘aliens’ to describe asylum seekers; Donald Trump and Nigel Farage are among the right-wing leaders who have deployed the term ‘alien’ in their ethno-nationalist campaigns. This intriguing Fringe show attempts to contrast the modern entanglement of the legal, human definition with the extraterrestrial, cartoonish version to review experiences of cultural alienation.
A mother and daughter experiment, Aliens is written and performed by Marta Mclldugg and Alessandra Celesia in Italian, English and French. Through a documentary-style public lecture (and occasional awkward singsong), the women relay their family’s multifaceted heritage, connecting it to Italian immigration to Ireland under Mussolini’s dictatorship. Filmed fragments of the women’s road trip across borders – in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, France and Italy – are projected onto the screen as they reenact interview snippets and heartfelt bonding moments on stage.
Although sentimental value and sincerity carry the show through its 80-minute duration, the storytelling often goes adrift. The show’s vast and eclectic material and anecdotes compete for our attention. As such, attempts to iron out the complexities of a mother-daughter relationship while simultaneously addressing the dehumanisation of refugees feel rushed, rather than given the airtime they seriously deserve.
The show ends with Marta and Alessandra dressed as an alien and an astronaut, in reference to a children’s tale of a female astronaut who fell in love with an alien on a different planet. It’s little on the nose, but this mother-daughter message is heard loud and clear: love, ultimately, triumphs over borders.
Aliens, ZOO Southside, until 30 Aug, 4.20pm