WE ARE NOT ALONE Damien Atkins’ adventurous exploration of the UFO phenomenon

Damien Atkins’ 

Onstage in the Scotiabank Community Studio

 

 

 

TORONTO – Crow’s Theatre and Segal Centre for Performing Arts in partnership with 2b theatre company are thrilled to bring Damien Atkins’ adventurous exploration of the UFO phenomenon, We Are Not Alone, to Streetcar Crowsnest for a Toronto run this January.  The show will be on stage in the Scotiabank Community Studio January 7 – January 26, 2019. (Media night: January 11)

 

This freshly reimagined production is written by and stars the multi-award winning actor and playwright Damien Atkins, who most recently completed an acclaimed run at the Shaw Festival playing Sherlock Holmes in The Hounds of the Baskervilles.  A previous incarnation of We Are Not Alone was first produced in 2015 at Montréal’s Segal Centre and presented at Magnetic North Festival in 2016. Following the January presentation at Streetcar Crowsnest the production will be presented in Edmonton by Theatre Network.

In We Are Not Alone, the question is not: are they really here? The real question is: what are they trying to tell us? In a world populated by mysterious sightings, videos of shapes moving in shadows and inexplicable crop circles, a playwright searches for answers. Are these occurrences a sign of otherworldly visitors, or are we being deceived?

We Are Not Alone is a one-man tour-de-force that compels audiences to answer the age-old question: do you believe? Blending fiction with historical facts, pop culture references with firsthand accounts, multi-talented actor/writer Damien Atkins, as himself, takes us down the rabbit hole of paranormal investigation, transforming into a multitude of real life characters (and some not so real). As he scratches away at the truth, the playwright comes to uncover the extraordinary humanity behind one of the most phenomenal subjects of our time. Raw, revealing and wonderfully quirky, We Are Not Alone is an out-of-this world theatrical encounter with one of the country’s most electrifying performers. The 2015 production was nominated for 6 META awards, including Best Actor and Best Production.

 

“I'm not sure what initially drew me to this subject,” says Atkins “I just knew that I was interested. And when I brought up my interest in conversations, I was intrigued by the reactions I got - intrigued and then piqued. So I decided to explore the UFO phenomenon and see what came of it. The journey was fascinating: terrifying, hysterical, confounding, enlightening, frustrating, and ultimately very personally resonant. I met a lot of very interesting people - experiencers, abductees, believers, skeptics, journalists, government officials, psychologists. And then one day I spent a couple of hours hiking in the Arizona desert with a woman who claims to be a human/alien hybrid. It was a morning that changed my life.”

 

We Are Not Alone brings together the award-winning vision of Crow’s Theatre Artistic Director and Siminovitch Award winning director Chris Abraham and Dora and Merritt award-winner Christian Barry, Artistic Director of Halifax’s 2b Theatre (The God That Comes, Revisited, East of Berlin).

 

“There are fierce and fascinating opinions on either side of the UFO debate and this project’s aim is to explore what drives a person to believe one explanation over another. Why is it so easy to believe in some things and so difficult to believe in others? How much proof do we need? Exploring the UFO phenomenon also reveals some psychologically complicated issues for humankind that we look forward to exploring in this piece. If we are, in fact, not alone in the universe – does that mean that humanity is headed for a humbling?” said the co-directors.

Backstage, Abraham and Barry are joined by set and costumes designer Julie Fox, lighting designer Kimberly Purtell, and sound designer Thomas Ryder Payne.

We Are Not Alone runs January 7  – January 26, 2019 (Media night: January 11) at Streetcar Crowsnest (345 Carlaw Avenue) in the Scotiabank Community Studio. Shows are scheduled Monday through Saturday at 8:30pm with Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2:30pm beginning January 12.

 

Tickets are now available for Crow’s’ 2018-2019 season with regular tickets starting at $22. Frequent Flyer season passes are available:  4-Play Flyers save 20% on all of their tickets.  Passholders choose the dates, times and shows for maximum flexibility and savings.

 

Get online information and make ticket purchases at crowstheatre.com.