ALIENS to Make Edinburgh Fringe Debut from Curious Industries & Dumbworld
The award-winning multimedia production explores migration, identity, and family through a real-life mother-daughter journey across Europe.
ALIENS, a multimedia performance created and performed by real-life mother and daughter Alessandra Celesia and Marta McIlduff, will be presented at ZOO Southside as part of the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Directed by Emily Mytton, whose credits include work with Punchdrunk, The National Theatre, and the Royal Shakespeare Company, the production won the Beyond Borders Award and received a nomination for Best Production at the 2025 Dublin Fringe Festival.
Blending live performance, video, archival testimony, and original music, ALIENS follows Celesia and McIlduff on a journey from Donegal to southern Italy, weaving together their personal experiences with stories from Italian immigrants in Northern Ireland, contemporary migrants, activists, and strangers encountered along the way.
The production takes inspiration from a little-known historical tragedy. In 1941, hundreds of Italian immigrants living in Northern Ireland were classified as "enemy aliens" following Italy's alliance with Germany during World War II. More than 400 died when the ship Arandora Star, transporting internees to Canada, was torpedoed. Many of the victims' bodies washed ashore along the coast of Donegal.
After spending a decade interviewing descendants of those families, filmmaker Alessandra Celesia began exploring the story through a new lens when her daughter started asking questions about identity, nationalism, and belonging in contemporary Europe. Together they embarked on a road trip that forms the backbone of the production, traveling from Donegal through Belfast and Calais before arriving in Casalattico, the Italian village from which many of the original immigrants had emigrated.
Performed in English, French, and Italian with integrated subtitles, ALIENS features Celesia and McIlduff live onstage alongside electronic musician Giovanni Corgiat Mecio, who performs the show's original score.
The production is written and performed by Marta McIlduff and Alessandra Celesia, with live music by Giovanni Corgiat Mecio. The creative team also includes video editor Piero Oronzo, lighting designer Rocco Andreacchio, and surtitles designer Elisabetta Scarin.
A co-production between Curious Industries and Dumbworld, ALIENS is presented as part of Aurora Nova 2026.
ALIENS
Venue: ZOO Southside
Dates: August 18-30, 2026 (no performance August 24)
Time: 4:20 p.m.
Running Time: 75 minutes
Age Recommendation: 12+
Language: Performed in English, French, and Italian with integrated subtitles
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