Karlis Zaid’s show, Loving the Alien, will have its world premiere at Arts Centre Melbourne this July. A love letter to David Bowie, this original theatre piece features songs and storytelling with Zaid and entertainer, writer and director, Aurora Kurth, in the lead roles.
The show has been created by award-winning actor, singer and writer, Zaid, who has been a lifelong fan of Bowie’s.
“One of my earliest memories was my Mum playing the ‘Diamond Dogs’ album on vinyl. It used to scare the s**t out of me. It’s basically Bowie’s version of George Orwell’s ‘1984’, as “rock’n’roll genocide…” This began my lifelong obsession with Bowie, not just his music, but the amazing, often creepy, theatricality of his work. The ‘Ashes to Ashes’ video on TV in 1980 also used to give me nightmares! I’ve always been drawn to things that freak me out.”
Zaid started thinking about doing a Bowie show in 2015 but shelved his ideas for a long time after his death, out of respect, says Zaid, for his hero. The COVID wasteland was a time to regroup and thus the world première was born.
“The challenge was that I didn’t want to do a tribute show, in any way. Tribute shows are fine, but the idea of dressing up as Ziggy Stardust and doing a concert really didn’t appeal to me. I wanted the show to have a script and songs, but without anyone attempting to ‘play’ Bowie.
Zaid says he has read more biographies about Bowie than he can recall. Describing some as very good others ‘fairly bloody average’ and others still ‘tabloidy’.
” There are a couple of discoveries I made about Bowie which did shock me…you’ll have to come along to find out which ones shock you… ‘Loving the Alien’ is definitely not a tribute show, it’s a mystery story…with absolute bangers as a soundtrack. Bowie was notoriously evasive in interviews. Even though he seemed like a sweetheart, you could never be sure if he was telling the truth or not, he’d contradict himself within seconds and just laugh and wink. And everything I’ve read about him is full of theories and speculation. He was a great actor, on stage and off. But I think I’ve found the real David Bowie. That’s what the show is about. Come see the ‘mystery’ solved! And let’s dance too…”
Zaid is focussing on all aspects of Bowie’s life so there is something for everyone.
“Even hardcore Bowie fans are in for some surprises, and there’ll be plenty of Bowie in-jokes for everyone! Fans of Bowie and fans of music alike can expect to hear those stone-cold classic songs, with two powerhouse singers (yes, that’s me too…!), stunning keyboards and arrangements on a grand piano, and shredding on lead guitar.”
Zaid hopes audiences will walk away with a better appreciation of Bowie as an artist, and a human being as well as feel like they’ve been to a rock’n’roll gig as well. “They may also reflect on whether it’s still possible to be as enigmatic and secretive as Bowie was, in this age of multimedia and ‘fake news’….”
Zaid is a graduate of the VCA School of Drama, and has worked in theatre, film, TV and music theatre for over 30 years. He and his co-star Kurth met almost 15 years ago) and I met almost 15 years ago when they worked on a fundraiser gig for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, where all the artists sang songs by, They Might Be Giants.
“She sang ‘Doctor Evil’, and I sang ‘Doctor Worm!’ From around 2017 – 2019, we worked together on a very dark cabaret I wrote with Mark Jones, called ‘Australian Gothic.’ I’m slowly turning that show into a musical…She’s a 4-foot nothing cyclone (she’ll kill me for the height gag…) She’s kinda been my muse for a while.”
Loving the Alien aims to lift the veil on who David Bowie was and has been described as a rock’n’roll odyssey. The show will be a must see for anyone who loves Bowie
Says Zaid, “I will solve the mystery of who the real David Bowie was. And we’re gonna get on a glam rocket to Mars to find out!”
July 3 – 6
https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/2025/contemporary-music/loving-the-alien
