Lord of the Flies

Since it was first published in 1956, this book has been read by so many people - adults and school students.  The image in your mind while reading does not match what you see here on stage in this production. These British school students, ranging in age, are wrecked on an island in the Pacific Ocean during the war and have to find a way to survive while living in hope of rescue. Initial attempts to work together in a structured way soon degenerate into two major groups with very conflicting views on life and how to survive. As the dirt builds on the bodies, so the “unclean” thoughts and deeds build within the groups. The search for survival becomes inter-twined with the desire for power and control, at any cost.

This is 21 year old Zachary Crisan’s major directorial debut and he has done an excellent job, both with his cast and his interpretation. The set depicts the island with its bush shelters, climbs and hills, which sets the play so well. The search for the beast on the island was not successful, but the audience found the beast in them. The growing filth on the bodies of the boys reflected the growing filth of their minds. Thus we had a challenging production in so many ways and on so many levels.

This young cast was outstanding as they reacted so well – and very physically at times – while staying in character completely. They were the islanded boys. Very well done. Bailey Parker as Ralph, Torin Rhys as Jack and Lyndon Steele as Simon were strong in major roles while Ben McMahon was the nerd type, piggy.  However, all the cast was good. If there was a fault at times it was that the lines were not always projected with the necessary clarity.

It was great to get to a live theatre production. It was even better to see such a good staging by this talented cast and director. More to come from them, I hope. Go see Lord of the Flies, if you can.

William Davies