Summer of the Aliens
Season 2 - 9th April to 2nd May, 2026
In a Melbourne suburb where nothing feels quite normal anymore, two figures stand out in Lewis’s memories — each strange, striking, and unforgettable in their own way.
James Anderson plays Mr Pisano, the eccentric neighbour whose unpredictable behaviour and colourful personality leave Lewis both fascinated and unsettled. James’s performance captures the humour, oddity, and quiet sadness that make Mr Pisano one of the play’s most memorable adults.
Yin Ingamells plays the role of the Japanese Woman, a haunting, delicate character who drifts through Lewis’s world like a living question mark. Her quiet intensity, stillness, and emotional depth add a layer of mystery that lingers long after she leaves the stage.
👽 As Lewis watches the adults around him behave in ways he can’t decode — from Mr Pisano’s strange outbursts to the Japanese Woman’s quiet sorrow — he clings to the only explanation that feels big enough: the aliens must be among us.
🎭 Summer of The Aliens is plying at The 1812 Theatre until 2nd May. Nostalgic, mysterious, and deeply human — don’t miss this remarkable production.
🎟️ Tickets: https://www.1812theatre.com.au/2026.../summer-of-the-aliens/
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Apr 26
🌒Something strange is happening in Lewis’s neighbourhood…
In Louis Nowra’s Summer of The Aliens, the adults around Lewis begin to shift — their moods, their stories, their behaviour. Nothing is quite what it seems… and two characters capture that unsettling change with remarkable clarity.
Rosalind Mackay plays Mrs Irvin — a neighbour whose clipped words, watchful silences, and sudden flashes of emotion leave Lewis wondering what she knows… and what she’s hiding.
Jason Triggs, plays the characters of Stan and Richard, adding layers of tension and unpredictability. Whether it’s Stan’s rough edges or Richard’s controlled, unreadable calm, Jason’s characters deepen the sense that the suburb is shifting in ways Lewis can’t explain.
👽 As the world grows stranger, as secrets ripple beneath the surface, Lewis turns to the only explanation that feels big enough: maybe the aliens really are among us.
🎭 Summer of The Aliens is now running at The 1812 Theatre. Step inside… if you’re ready to see the world through Lewis’s eyes.
Tickets: https://www.1812theatre.com.au/2026.../summer-of-the-aliens/
#summerofthealiens
Apr 25
🌙Shadows are stirring at The 1812 Theatre…
1962 Melbourne is getting stranger by the minute… and no one embodies that beautifully chaotic world quite like Grandma, Bev, and Beatrice.
At the heart of Lewis’s memories stands Grandma, brought to life by Ann Maree Eastman. Grandma is sharp, unpredictable, and achingly human — a woman whose fading clarity and sudden bursts of truth leave Lewis questioning everything he thought he understood about the adults around him.
And weaving through the neighbourhood’s secrets and tensions is Sarah Sundstrom, playing the roles of both Bev and Beatrice. Each character adds a new layer of mystery and emotional weight — from brittle humour to unsettling intensity — shaping the world Lewis is desperately trying to decode.
As the summer grows stranger, as families fracture and loyalties shift, Lewis clings to the only explanation big enough to hold the chaos: the aliens must be among us.
🎟️https://www.1812theatre.com.au/2026-season/summer-of-the-aliens/
#summerofthealiens
Apr 25
Its 1962 and like much of the world a Melbourne suburb is on edge. Families behaving strangely. Secrets simmering beneath the surface. And in the middle of it all, a young boy trying to make sense of the people around him, including his parents, whose relationship is a portrait of two people who once hoped for more but now feel trapped in a life neither knows how to fix.
Ange Ellis steps into the role of Norma, Lewis’s mother and one of the most emotionally complex figures in Lewis’s world — a woman stretched thin by poverty, responsibility, and the quiet, grinding disappointments of her life. Sharp‑tongued, volatile, sometimes tender and often overwhelmed. She is a woman trying to hold her world together as everything around her shifts. Lewis sees her flaws long before he has the emotional tools to understand them, which is why she becomes one of the “aliens” in his mind: someone acting strangely, unpredictably, and beyond his comprehension.
Brett Hyland plays Lewis’s farther, Eric, whose unpredictable behaviour adds tension, mystery, and emotional weight to the story. Eric is complex, unsettling, and impossible to ignore — a key piece of the puzzle Lewis is desperate to solve. Eric is an “alien” of a different kind: not strange in behaviour, but unreachable, unknowable, and emotionally out of orbit.
Summer of The Aliens is funny, nostalgic, and quietly profound — don’t miss your chance to experience it.
🎟️https://www.1812theatre.com.au/2026-season/summer-of-the-aliens/
#summerofthealiens
Apr 23
🎭Summer of The Aliens by Louis Nowra 🎭
The world of 1962 is a tense place, and the adults are worried… but for two teenagers in a Melbourne housing commission suburb, life is getting complicated for very different reasons.
In this vivid, funny, and deeply human coming of age story, Michelle Drinnan shines as Dulcie — sharp witted, fearless, and unafraid to challenge Lewis’s view of the world. Her Dulcie is the spark that forces him to confront the messy, confusing truth of growing up.
Alongside her, Daniel Parton plays Brian, Lewis’s best mate whose priorities are… well, a little more earthly. Brian’s blunt honesty and teenage bravado add humour and heart as the boys stumble through a summer full of strange neighbours, shifting friendships, and the creeping suspicion that something isn’t quite right.
👽 As the world around them grows stranger, Lewis clings to one explanation big enough to make sense of it all: the aliens must be among us.
Summer of The Aliens is playing at The 1812 Theatre until 2nd May. Nostalgic, funny, and quietly profound — don’t miss this beautifully crafted production.
🎟️https://www.1812theatre.com.au/2026-season/summer-of-the-aliens/
#summerofthealiens
Apr 22
🎭 Now Playing at The 1812 Theatre — Summer of The Aliens by Louis Nowra 🎭
Its 1962 and the world is on edge… but for young Lewis, the real mysteries are happening right in his own neighbourhood.
In this beautifully strange and deeply human coming of age story, Castiel McIntosh brings Lewis to life with a performance full of curiosity, vulnerability, and that restless spark of a boy trying to make sense of a world that suddenly feels unfamiliar. His Lewis is wide eyed, hopeful, and heartbreakingly honest — the perfect centre of Nowra’s memory play.
Guiding us through Lewis’s turbulent summer is Stephen McPhail as the Narrator — older, wiser, and looking back with a mix of humour, tenderness, and the ache of remembering who we once were. His presence adds a powerful emotional layer, bridging past and present as Lewis stumbles toward understanding.
👽 Summer of The Aliens is now playing at The 1812 Theatre. Funny, nostalgic, and quietly profound — don’t miss this beautifully crafted production.
🎟️ https://www.1812theatre.com.au/2026-season/summer-of-the-aliens/
#summerofthealiens
Apr 21
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Apr 15
🎭Now Playing — Summer of the Aliens 🎭
Step back into 1962, where the world is bracing for the Cuban missile crisis… but for 14‑year‑old Lewis, the real mysteries are happening much closer to home.
Growing up in a Melbourne housing commission suburb, Lewis is caught between childhood and adulthood — watching neighbours act strangely, friendships shift, and the people he loves become harder to understand. With Dulcie by his side, he begins to realise that growing up isn’t about finding simple answers… it’s about learning to face the complicated truth of the world around you.
And when everything feels confusing, frightening, and a little surreal, Lewis turns to the only explanation that makes sense to him: the aliens must be among us. 👽
Summer of the Aliens is funny, tender, nostalgic, and deeply human story— a vivid memory play about the moment life stops being simple and starts being real.
🎟️ Now running at The 1812 Theatre until 2nd May — don’t miss this beautifully crafted coming‑of‑age story.
#summerofthealiens
Apr 14
