Lord of the Flies
*****
Sherman Theatre, Cardiff
Wed 17 Oct
It’s been almost sixty-five years since William Golding’s classic novel first hit the bookshelves. Its allegory on power and the nature of community remains as relevant as it did then, but so does its downplaying of gender, class and racial politics. Thanks to Nigel Williams’ adaptation and Emma Jordan’s direction, this new co-production of Lord of the Flies feels new and contemporary.
The most obvious change is the cast – while their names haven’t changed, the marooned boys of Golding’s novel are now being played by an ensemble of young female performers. The difference is profound – it’s not so much the power dynamics that have changed, but the way in which they’re expressed. There’s something distinctly more frightening about the way in which the girls clash. Jack isn’t brutish in this version; Kate Lamb’s electric portrayal of the head hunter is far more torturous. She leads a pack of hyenas, not lions, and their terrorising of the others come across far crueller. As Piggy, Gina Fillingham does a magnificent job of getting sympathy and scorn from the audience by playing it much darker: watching the character get bullied would be far less unnerving if it was a male actor.
As much praise as Jordan deserves for her direction of the cast, arguably more needs to be given for her design choices. James Perkins’ set is a stunningly built playground for the performers to leap and crawl around in. Tim Mascall bathes the stage in brash oranges and yellows during action sequences but it’s when he pares it right down that the play is at its visual best. Special mention also needs to go to Liz Ranken (movement director) and Bethan Clark (fight director) for helping the performers’ physicality on stage feel organic and their fighting realistic.
The appeal of Golding’s novel has endured this long because of how much it had to say about masculinity and Britain’s attitude to rule and law. But it’s also fundamentally a really enjoyable read. For all of the radical changes Jordan has made, that’s the one thing her version of Lord of the Flies shares with the original. There is so much to unpack and discuss in this innovative approach; but, ultimately, it’s a really enjoyable and satisfying piece of theatre.
words Jafar Iqbal
Lord of the Flies is at Sherman Theatre until Saturday 3 November 2018
Tickets: £16 – £26 (concessions and discounts available) Info: www.shermantheatre.co.