Thursday 4 October 2018

REVIEW: Lord Of The Flies - Theatr Clwyd, Mold.



 “After the war...I had discovered what one man could do to another... [what could be done] skilfully, coldly, by educated men, doctors, lawyers, by men with a tradition of civilisation behind them, to beings of their own kind.” William Golding in his essay “Fable”

'Lord Of The Flies' was first published in 1954 becoming a classic. Author Sir William Golding was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature 1983. Playwright and novelist Nigel Williams's stage adaptation of the novel was first professionally produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-Upon-Avon in July 1995. Williams states, “William Golding, who was extraordinarily kind and helpful to me in preparing my adaptation of his novel, always said that the principal problem, for him, was whether a theatrical performance could show the process of boys becoming men’’ (Pilot Theatre Education Pack 2008). I mention this as Director, Emma Jordan, using Williams’s adaptation, flouts tradition and breaks the mould of what is essentially a boys’ fantasy horror desert-island tale, in this spirited all female (apart from the Naval Officer [Matthew Bulgo]) production set in present day.

A plane has crashed on a desert-island while evacuating schoolgirls from war. The girls fully believe that civilisation has been annihilated by nuclear bombs (except for Ralph [Lola Adaja] who repeatedly states that her father is in the Navy and will rescue them). This belief quickly brings out the worst of human traits as order breaks down and anarchy ensues. A marching choir led by school prefect Jack (Kate Lamb) joins an initially playful Ralph and Piggy (Gina Fillingham). Fillingham, superb as Piggy, provides some lovely comedy as well as some of the darkest moments of the play. Kind and intelligent, Piggy is singled out immediately as a figure of ridicule because of her weight, different accent and short-sightedness and is cruelly bullied. Adaja leads a strong ensemble cast with Lowri Hamer as a younger child Percyval remaining believably childlike throughout. Twins Sam and Eric, played by real life twins Lowri and Mari Izzard, in their first joint roles, bring a natural empathy and impeccable joint timing to the stage.

Ralph and Jack gather separate followings after Ralph wins an initial vote for a democratic leader. The girls take sides, forming tribes, as politics take over and Jack becomes more and more aggressive with promises of food and fun over Ralph’s rescue strategy of shelter and fire. Piggy’s glasses become a metaphor for survival as they are used to start a rescue signal fire. Middle-class Jack, bred within the country pursuit of hunting, feels she should be the natural leader but becomes a dictator leading her tribe in search of food, armed with knives and makeshift spears, chanting ‘kill the pig’. Kate Lamb brings an athletic physicality to Jack as she leaps about the static set designed by James Perkins using multi slim (driftwood) stakes to support a snaking tiered runway representing a gritty, grey island beach, forest and hilltop. The whole cast intertwine beautifully with the set giving depth and physical layers to the performance. Covered in pigs blood the girls realise they too need fire to cook the freshly killed pig. Amidst the chaos is fear. Fuelled by their own fear of an unknown beast and incited by Jack to a tribal, spear wielding dance (that even Ralph joins), Roger (a menacing Hannah Boyce) stabs and kills the spiritual Simon (Olivia Marcus) who stumbles in their path. Piggy’s glasses become the centre of power as Jack steals them, but without them she cannot see. This lack of vision is exploited, inciting more ridicule and bullying. Further death is on its way as the girls grow more savage and divided with time until rescue brings accountability - but hey, they’re only kids playing…

So ‘boys becoming men’ translates as girls becoming women? Well not quite. The girls are already feisty, and despite the script’s outdated version of class discrimination, Jordan successfully challenges a modern culture where bullying and knife carrying gangs are real.
The play transfers to its co-producing Sherman theatre on 17th October.
Reviewer - Barbara Sherlock
on - 2/10/18

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