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Stunning Classic Brought To Life
Lord of the Flies
Newcastle Theatre Royal
Saturday
12th March 2016
A stunning set and a fabulous young cast
combine to bring William Golding’s 1954 classic into life.
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| Photo Johan Persson |
Newcastle’s Theatre Royal had a
captioned & audio described performance for Disabled Access Day for the
matinee performance. Anything which helps make theatre more inclusive has to be
congratulated. The Theatre Royal is making a real effort with inclusive
performances such as autistic friendly children’s shows and this has been
recognised nationally. The captioning could easily be ignored by those that
didn’t need it but still seen by those that did.
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Keenan Munn-Francis as Simon
Photo Johan Persson
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Lord Of The Flies is a regular text for GCSE
studies and it was pleasing to see the stalls had large numbers of teenagers.
They were being exposed to a brilliant example of theatre and hopefully will be
back soon. The pressure was on for the
young cast as most of the audience will have studied the source in minute
detail.
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Matthew Castle as Roger
Photo Johan Persson
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In 1954 Britain was gripped by the Cold
War. There was every likelihood that an escalation in any hostilities could
result in full scale nuclear war. In this scenario Golding has a plane carrying
lots of schoolchildren crashing on a deserted island. The adults died in the
crash leaving a number of lads, in school uniforms, defending for themselves.
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Anthony Roberts as Piggy
Photo Johan Persson
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Ralph meets Piggy near the rear section of the
plane and, at first, they recognise a sense of adventure. They also realise
that they should try to get rescued by any passing ships or planes. They find a
large shell and Ralph blows into it. This results in other boys that had been
scattered around the area heading to the source of the noise. Amongst them is
school prefect Jack who leads a small group of the school choir. The group are
excited by the lack of adult control but are divided about how to proceed. From
the beginning there is rivalry for the alpha position between Ralph and Jack.
The boys elect Ralph as the leader who then decides to hold the first of many
meetings.
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Freddie Wakins and Luke Ward-Wilkinson as
Jack and Ralph
Photo Johan Persson
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The story explores how there will be challenges
on the pecking order of a group of people. It also shows how there is not only
a group that assume leadership but there is also a group that seem to end up
getting bullied. In between are those who are happy to be led.
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Thiago (left) and Fellipe Pigatto.
Photo Johan Persson
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In this adaptation by Nigel Williams there has
been a small amount of updating. The Timothy Sheader directed show starts with
a mobile phone on a selfie stick, though the image cannot go on Instagram as
there is “no 3G here.”
What holds the show together is a fabulously
talented young cast. They give the audience characters that one believes in and
cares about. Luke Ward-Wilkinson and Freddie Watkins come across as leadership
material in their roles as Ralph and Jack. Anthony Roberts is vulnerable yet
adult as Piggy. Matthew Castle is suitably scary as the tough Roger. Fellipe Pigatto
and Thiago Pigatto do well to keep their dialogue in sink as the twins Eric and
Sam. One worries about Maurice and Simon thanks to the clever portrayals by
Michael Ajao and Keenan Munn-Francis.
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Freddie Watkins as Jack
Photo Johan Persson
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The set is very impressive. A whole tail section
of a plane, and the luggage it once held, fills the stage and it provides many
levels for the action to take place. Jon Bausor’s design allows the cast to
split up on a number of levels and still remain in few of the theatre audience.
The pulse of the show is aided by Nick Powell’s sound score that includes a
number of slow motion fight or chasing scenes.
Lord Of The Flies is a gripping tale that examines
the human condition along the expectations of society. A confident young cast
deliver a strong performance on a cleverly designed set. The tale studied by
many at school came alive and is very much relevant today.
This review was written by Stephen
Oliver for
Jowheretogo PR (www.jowheretogo.com). Follow Jo on twitter
@jowheretogo, Stephen @panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo.
Read
the North East Theatre Guide preview:
The tour continues to Bromley Churchill Theatre
from the 15th-19th
March 2016.
Tickets are available on 0844 871 7620 or www.atgtickets.com/bromley.
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