Do you know what you would do if extraterrestrials landed on earth? That is the question posed in If aliens attack, I’d die first. The play centres around four flatmates grappling with an alien invasion and arguing over who is best suited to fight the creatures.
An original play from the Imperial College Drama Society, it dramatically opens to a meteor crash landing on earth. Sam and Jane turn on the news in their living room and watch gripped as the chaos progresses. We learn that Sam is a doomsday prepper and has supplies ready to fight the aliens. Jane declares her fears, she has always thought she would be the first to die in an alien invasion. Soon they are joined by their other flatmate Harry, and tense scenes unfold as the anxiety in the flat builds around the invasion.
Sam is the archetypal confident and reckless character who is committed to fighting the aliens. This causes stress and in this time of crisis grievances between the friends are aired. Finally, Benji their goofy and love-struck flatmate returns with his new boyfriend Claudius. The flatmates are suspicious, could Claudius be an alien? They fail to believe anyone would love Benji this quickly. Benji provides comic relief that relieves some of the tension built in the previous scenes. The play culminates with a dramatic end leaving the audience reflecting after this 45-minute rollercoaster.
The play cleverly poses moral philosophical questions around sacrifice and loyalty in a playful and engaging way. Weaving in humour with a joke on the aliens disliking ABBA and this being a way of defeating them, the show balances the emotion and comedy well. Commitment to gags throughout also ties everything together well.
A good original production that was highly enjoyable, you could see the cast enjoying themselves. It was one of the best student productions I have seen this fringe, and I would highly recommend to anyone wishing to support university drama societies.
If Aliens Attack, I’d Be The First To Die ran from 17 to 22 August at Upper theatre The Space at Niddry street. Buy tickets here.
Image provided by Imperial College Drama Society for press use.
