We Are Not Alone: Damien Atkins wants us to want to believe
14 Jan 2019

by Drew Rowsome - Photos by Paul Aihoshi

Is it logical to think that just because we don't see things happening that they aren't happening?

Very early on in We Are Not Alone, the very amiable Damien Atkins (The Gay Heritage Project, London Road, Sextet, Mr Burns) takes the pulse of the audience to see who believes in UFOs and alien encounters. Or at least to see who is open to the idea. He is not out to persuade us, or dissuade us, he just wants to take us on a journey into a weird and wonderful world that he has been exploring. 

If Atkins wanted to sway an audience in any direction he chose, he could certainly accomplish it. He is charming and confides with sweet sincerity. And he is very, very funny in a gentle way that mocks while simultaneously being full of wonder. Not as much wonder as the audience experiences. We Are Not Alone is also a showcase for Atkins' virtuoso talents as he transforms and morphs into character after character, each one defined and clear, often differentiated just by a vocal inflection or accent, or a change of facial or physical form. It is quite remarkable, even more so for always being in service of the characters.

We meet characters from different time periods, genders, ages and classes. The one thing they all have in common is having encountered an alien, having the desire to encounter an alien, or being complete skeptics about the existence of aliens. Make that two things, they all also have a burning need to express themselves, to be believed and to make sense of what has happened or is happening to them. Atkins' instincts take each character to the edge of caricature but never pushes past their basic flawed humanity. A one man show with a cast of thousands.

Atkins is aided by subtle, and not-so subtle, lighting changes courtesy of Kimberley Purtell, and sonics from Thomas Ryder Payne (Hamlet, Prince Hamlet). While it must have been tempting to unleash an onslaught of special effects and multi-media, the lights and sound are deceptively simple, suggestive and add as much mystery as they reveal. The timing is tightly choreographed and may explain the credits for three directors, Chris Abraham (The Wedding Party), Christian Barry (What a Young Wife Ought to Know) and Andrew Kushnir (Wormwood, Cock, The Gay Heritage Project). Abraham also plays, as incarnated by Atkins, a pivotal and hilarious character in We Are Not Alone.

The central plotline, literally and thematically, is that Atkins wants to create a play about UFOs and aliens. He researches, goes to an International UFO Congress convention, and hikes with a pair of psychics to a vortex to parallel dimensions in Sedona. While the individual events are wildly jocular or suitably spooky, the conceit of playwriting puts Atkins at a distance from any emotional involvement. He takes notes instead of experiencing. Despite his contagious enthusiasm we never learn what first fascinated him about UFOs, sparked his interest, and lead him to begin this epic quest. We don't understand what compels him to brave what obviously unnerves him, except that he finds researching alien encounters "oddly addictive." And perhaps that he plays frazzled and jittery so well.

That leaves the grand finale, where the dual meaning of the title is driven home, flatter than it deserves to be. Aside from backstage musicals, the creation of art is usually less compelling than the art itself. And the meat of We Are Not Alone is high art. Atkins is spellbinding, and when he describes a discovery as "super creepy and fun," he could be promoting We Are Not Alone. The people he meets are as disturbing as they are delightful, he turns on a mega-watt smile as often as he drifts into a shadow with his voice electronically altered enough to send shivers up the audiences' collective spines. 

If there are aliens watching us or guiding us or toying with us - and I fervently want to believe there are - then I'm sure they have their eyes on Atkins. After they are done probing him to discover the source of his outsized theatrical talent, they can return him and he can stage We Are Not Alone II. No matter what they look and sound like, even if they are beyond our pitiful comprehension, I have no doubts that Atkins will be able to incarnate them and give them a voice.