Lord of the Flies in all it Gruesome Glory
Sam Almond as Simon. Photo by Lucy Barriball.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding, performed by the Playbox Theatre, The Dream Factory, Warwick from 6-8 June.
Review by Lucy Griffiths.
‘Kill the pig! Cut its throat! Spill its blood!’ This legendary line has once again echoed the halls of Playbox Theatre, as this tale of blood and torment was brought to the stage afresh in all its gruesome glory.
The Lord of the Flies is not your average book, and the play was quite the same – if you had the pleasure of watching, you will most likely have left the auditorium in a daze, questioning your own morals as you recall the Tribe’s quick descent into disarray, to put it lightly.
Nathanael Saleh as Jack. Photo by Lucy Barriball.
Quillan Mitchell’s Ralph at first seems innocent and lively, but as the character progresses, we see him change from carefree, to being unable to handle the responsibility placed upon him by the other members of the Tribe, struggling with the reality of not being able to please everyone, while questioning his own morals and sanity.
However, Nathanael Saleh’s Jack is both pitied and feared, as his need for validation peeks through the blood-thirsty leader he needs us to see, making what could easily have been a purely barbaric character, into a 3-dimensional and entirely plausible human being, which, for me, is what made the performance truly chilling.
Theo Jobbins as Piggy. Photo by Lucy Barriball.
The devastating death of Piggy (Theo Jobbins) deserves a mention. Each time watching, the minute details in Director Emily Quash’s masterpiece of mayhem shone through, particularly in this scene – which broke me every single time.
The bloodthirsty panic as Roger (Conor Davies) chases the blind Piggy up a mountain, leading to a shattering flashback of a bullied Little Piggy, makes the audience realise that this isn’t a game anymore, but that these boys have truly reverted into their primal form.
Some members of the 37-strong cast in rehearsals.
Sam Almond as Simon was frankly phenomenal, used as a contrast to the other boys, giving the audience our own voice making his horribly beautiful death all the more cruel to watch, for as we all know, this drives the crushing of their society, now the voice of reason is gone.
The entire show was truly remarkable, clearly a labour of love from the whole cast and team, and I can’t imagine how exhausted and proud the cast must feel after leading us through this spine-tingling corruption night after night.
Discover more by the Playbox Theatre: www.playboxtheatre.com
