Kip Williams’ theatrical adaptation of William Golding’s classic, ‘Lord of the Flies’ is an interesting exploration into the gender roles that encompass the original text. Featuring an all female cast, the show attempts to establish whether ‘Lord of the Flies’ is a text that is “universally applicable to all people”. While the clever contextualization of the show is not always used to its full extent, the performances are excellent, fully capturing the barbarity of Golding’s novel.
Williams sets the play in what appears to be a refined private school for girls. The beautiful set, designed by Michael Hankin, is used as the island onto which the plane crashes. As the uniformed girls descend into brutality, the set and costumes are stripped down. By the end of the show, the steady disintegration of the set transforms the kept space into complete chaos.
The use of sound within the production is haunting; the cast are often singing, chanting and thumping. The tribal elements that this brings to the performance is incredibly affecting.
Rather than playing at feminine roles, the girls adopt male personas – perhaps restricting the depth at which this clever interpretation could have gone. Unfortunately, this also means the cast have the tendency to shout a lot of the lines.
Despite this, the high-intensity performances really bring Williams’ ‘Lord of the Flies’ to life. Fiona Pepper as Ralph and Contessa Treffone as Piggy particularly stand out for their sympathetic and strong performances, while Eloise Winestock’s savage portrayal of Jack is terrifying.
Kip William’s ‘Lord of the Flies’, holds an exciting concept that, while not always explored to its full potential, is a powerful and emotive exploration of the darker side of humanity.
Lord of the Flies is showing at the Malthouse Theatre in the Tower until the 14th of July. To book tickets, click here.
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