Reviewed by: Simon Brownjohn

Editor: Sophia Zikic

Four Letter Word Theatre’s adaptation of Lord of the Flies invites audiences to enter the world of eleven schoolboys stranded on a desolate island, where the only guarantee is paranoia and destruction. This two-act work, presented in the Guild Theatre, revisits William Golding’s 1954 novel to explore the ever-relevant dichotomy of stability and chaos. Although the boys identify co-operation as a goal in their quest to be rescued, the group quickly fractures as the desire for power bubbles to the forefront of the collective conscious. A faction within the group become driven by an unrelenting persistence to hunt ‘the beast’, a figment stemming from the fear which occupies the boys’ minds. Dedication towards killing the beast becomes a matter of self-identification for those in the ingroup in relation to the outgroup, thus laying the foundation for a tale of cascading violence and inevitable murder.

The piece was at its best during moments of heightened tension, several scenes throughout the performance stood out as brilliantly captivating. My personal favourite moment was the chaotic killing of Simon (Serena Sitch) – misunderstood to be the beast, simply due to how well choreographed it was. Lighting Designer Jacques Cooney Adlard’s strobe lighting effect, which was used sparingly and tastefully, worked in tandem with Charlotte Rogers’ directing to present the jaw-dropping reveal of Simon’s bloodied corpse. Practical effects such as this were a definitive strength of the show. Unfortunately, the show tended to experience an unintentionally stark decrease in energy levels after descending the precipice of these high-tension scenes. There were occasional instances in which the pacing of low-tension scenes felt stilted in comparison to the more grandiose scenes that occurred immediately, as though there was an element of subtlety and realism missing. This appears to primarily be an issue of resolving the divide between the pieces’ dynamically loud and soft elements to create a cohesive presentation.

Rogers, in collaboration with Assistant Director Francis Heath imparted a visionary-like presence upon the performance; I was particularly impressed with the directors’ decision to use chalk as a stage direction. During primarily expositional scenes, members of the ensemble would use pieces of chalk to draw or write words which connected to the dialogue being uttered by the other characters on stage. This technique solved numerous potential issues; first and foremost, the Guild Theatre is not a particularly large theatrical space, which may have caused issues of choreography in an 11-person ensemble, especially given the large quantity of scenes which featured the entire cast on stage simultaneously. Given these adversities, it is easy to imagine a situation in which the staging felt lacklustre. Moreover, this provided audiences with an additional, yet mostly optional, visual stimulus to engage with; a welcome inclusion to spice up the rather minimalist set.

Credit must be given to Ella Barrett, as costume designer, and Alexis Shiu, as hair and makeup designer on this project. Barrett and Shiu’s work, whilst understated, went a long way to presenting a cast of university-age actors as schoolchildren in a believable fashion. Of course, these efforts were elevated in tandem with the convincing cast performances who successfully sold the audience on each and every character. I found myself especially impressed with Freddie Carew-Reid’s portrayal of Ralph, the show’s protagonist and chief of the stranded boys. Carew-Reid’s performance was deeply layered, and subtle aspects of his acting, from mannerisms to intonation, made Ralph feel like a real child I could imagine myself having gone to school with. This realism comforted the show with a sense of grounding to successfully place the ensemble within the world of Lord of the Flies. Ralph may have been the in-world leader of the group, yet his leadership appears to extend beyond that. Carew-Reid’s strong onstage presence served as a central point of orbit to help augment the rest of the cast’s performances, allowing each actor to play off one another.

Despite the production’s air of realism, there were nonetheless instances of questionable writing decisions which undercut this effort. For example, the character of Piggy is frequently degraded by the other children for being ‘fat’, despite Piggy being portrayed by a non-fat actor (Campbell Jordan). Each time Piggy’s supposed fatness was alluded to it created a moment of dissonance – as an audience member I felt ejected from the in-show world. Moreover, it felt somewhat insensitive to portray the real adversities fat people regularly face through the conduit of a non-fat actor. The inclusion of Piggy’s fatness is a remnant of the original novel. Instances such as these highlight the significant degree to which Four Letter Word’s adaption of Lord of the Flies clung tightly to Golding’s text. There is nothing inherently wrong with creating a faithful adaptation of an influential work. However, I believe the production team could have been more cognisant of the bisection between the resources available to them (e.g., the cast) and the strict details of the original text. This is not to say any casting director or individual actor is at fault. In fact, one of the reasons I draw so much attention to this issue is because of how enthralling I found Jordan’s performance as Piggy. Jordan excelled at portraying a heightened character in a way which did not feel out of place alongside the relative naturalism of the ensemble. It appears the problems regarding Piggy’s characterisation could have been resolved by centring his outsider status within the group around an aspect unrelated to his physical appearance.

On the other hand, I appreciate the production team’s decision to have gender-neutral casting, whilst simultaneously reinforcing the boyhood of the 11 characters throughout the show. Firstly, this allowed many of the non-male actors to thrive in a role they may not typically have the opportunity to play. Michaela Lattanzio was particularly impressive in the role of Jack, an aggressive boy and leader of the tribe dedicated to hunting the beast. Secondly, this separated ‘masculinity’ from being an innate part of the characters (several characters sported traditionally ‘girly’ hairstyles such as pigtails), instead facilitating a poignant discussion about the meaning of boyhood, in the abstract. It is disheartening that both the cast and production team were overwhelmingly white. I am sure this lack of diversity was not intentional; Lord of the Flies is not the first, nor will it be the last, production to have this issue. However, it indicates that work must still be done in order to curate an environment in which people of all backgrounds feel welcomed and supported. On the whole, Lord of the Flies was an impressive production and a spectacle to witness. The directing was at times ingenious, and the ensemble delivered naturalistic dialogue with such poise that laid the cornerstone for captivating audiences in Four Letter Word’s remake of this perpetually pertinent work.

Four Letter Word Theatre’s Lord of the Flies ran 4-6 May at the Guild Theatre