Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding in 1954 and winner of the literature Nobel Prize award, is an allegory (a story composed of different layers) illustrating man’s desire to exercise power over other living things and take advantage, by abusing authority, of weaker members of society. On a simple level the novel describes a plane crash full of evacuees on a deserted paradise island. At first the boys are delighted at the prospect of no adult supervision; they democratically elect Ralph a fair, athletic and charismatic boy as their leader and set down some rules. But soon the novelty of independence wears off, as life on the island starts to deteriorate and the decline of civilisation and decent into savagery begins. Jack, who is an antagonist and one of the oldest boys stranded on the island, becomes increasingly primitive in his behaviour by developing an obsessive compulsion with hunting. It is not long before killing of a wild boar for meat turns into cold blooded murder of Piggy and Simon (loyal supporters of Ralph’s tribe). Chaos builds as myth of the beast grows stronger, this creature is part of the boys’ imagination and is the personification of the evil inside man. As the boys become more primordial their fear becomes stronger.

The curtain opened onto a simplistic but very effective set design, composed by Rhodri Lewis, of different layers covered with dark khaki cloth that gave the appearance of dead vegetation. It provided the setting of the jungle within the boys’ deserted island. Behind the stage blocks was a projector which served as the perfect backdrop to all the action taking place in the foreground. At the beginning a series of black and white images were displayed on the screen, establishing the historical and social context of the play, wartime in England.

There was particular care and attention, by musical director Set Crawley, towards the choice of music and sound effects. Throughout the performance soulful ballads were played in the interval between scenes. The main sound effects employed were those of the percussion, mainly symbols which coincided with strobe lighting to create the impression of thunder and lightning. Drums cleverly illustrated the passage of time as well as the hunters’ footsteps.

The lightning, done by Tom Mendham, was both sophisticated and artistic. A wide variety of colours and intensities were used to illustrate the changes in time of day, weather conditions and more subtly the mood and dynamics of the group.

The costumes and make-up by Mrs Johnstone along with the props designed by Charlie Franklin turned the fictional tale into a realistic experience. As the play progressed and the boys started their descent into savages, their clothes became increasingly torn, their appearances grubby and dishevelled. They landed on the island clothed in their school uniforms, which gave the audience a united and innocent impression of them. Within a few scenes they had become bare chest, face painted warriors holding sharpened spears, a far cry from their former selves.

The way in which the young cast handled the complex themes of violence, bullying and friendship was sensitive and passionate. I felt the frenzied manslaughter of Simon was particularly well devised by directors Rhodri Lewis and Joe Gibbs. The boys closed in on their victim amongst the crescendo of drumming and beating, the lights made the scene increasingly intense and hysterical. As the attack reached a climax the lights were extinguished and clamour died down. Charlie Moore (Jack) and Josh Barnes (Ralph) portrayed clearly the disintegration of the two boys’ relationship that brought about the groups’ division. At the same time as this break down a bond formed between Ralph and Piggy (Jonah Trenouth), I really enjoyed seeing their friendship build as Ralph started to value Piggy as a friend and not just as an advisor. The main use of accent came from Piggy, this with his poor grammar and use of colloquial language added to his character’s profile.