Lord Of The Flies Review – Greenwich Theatre
LORD OF THE FLIES
A review by Anisha from Fashion and Frappes
The pragramme for Lord of the Flies mentions the “the play feels all the more pertinent in today’s world polictially and socially. The play talks to us directly about us.” These are chilling words and quite accurate. The Lazarus Theatre Company’s Lord of the Flies is based on the orginal William Golding novel of the same name.
Golding wrote the novel influenced by what he expereinced during the war. The story is set on a island where a group of schoolboys are stranded. We see their society on the island develop and the gradual change in their behaviour makes for chilling effect.
Although I have read the book I cannot say it made any difference to my understanding of the play so don’t be discourgaed on that front. Also oddly (and this was my perception) I was pleasantly surprised to see the casting since this is not what I was expecting.
Luckily the Lazarus Theatre Company has moved on since 1954 (when the original book was published) and we see both girls and boys included in the cast although the book originally only includes a group of school boys. A little more diversity in the cast would have been appreciated but it was nice to see such a young cast, especially one so talented.
The main characters were amazing. Even after knowing the story, Matt Penson’s Jack was shocking. You could feel Alice Hutchinson’s as Ralph’s frustration and helplessness, and sympathise. What I also really enjoyed was how easy it was follow each character in the group, although I have to admit some stood out. Special mention for Darcy Willison (Roger) with her aggressive and scary portrayal as a part of Jack’s team of hunters.
You can take the story as it is or see the play as a metaphor for our current society and politics. What is our true character? What do we value as a society? How do we behave when the circumstances are trying? We see the group change in their behaviour, values and interaction with each other which will get you thinking.
