Lord of the Flies reigns supreme in the Warwick Arts Centre studio

Do not be deceived by an almost bare set and the gentle hum of Radiohead and Pink Floyd, this Lord of the Flies production is a spectacular, visionary masterpiece. And it has been a long time in the works.  

First appealing (unsuccessfully) to Warwick University Drama Society (WUDS) two years ago, it was not until last term that the project was given the go-ahead. Director Matthew Dickinson doesn’t feel resentful, telling The Boar: “I needed the knock back… in order to perfect and detail the vision, as it was technically and financially unrealistic… Passion projects are great, but getting too stuck in a rut can doom the project to failure.”For this reviewer, the end product reaps the rewards of his patience.  

The contrast between the charming Piggy, who represents the textbook example of intelligence as vulnerability, and the tortured savage Jack is mesmeric

The first dialogue we see is a quickfire, comic exchange between the characters of Ralph (Billy Parkes) and Piggy, which leads us to wonder if the horrors to come could so easily have been a freeing fantasy. But it is the increasingly sinister relationship between the latter, played magnificently by Brandon Lipscombe-Holt, and Jack, portrayed by an equally stellar Fred McGahan, that forms the crux of this production. The contrast between the charming Piggy, who represents the textbook example of intelligence as vulnerability, and the tortured savage Jack is mesmeric. What is so effective about McGahan’s performance is that it starts off almost melodramatic, but becomes terrifyingly human by the time of the play’s climax. An honourable mention equally has to go to Sam Rees, who delivers a stirring monologue on child abuse when portraying Simon.  

Dickinson relishes giving all his actors as much stage time as possible, and none of them are wasted. Every scene, every frame of the play, is a portrait where multiple stories are being told; whether it is Jack and Roger conspiring in the corner of the stage, or the “Hunters” drooling at the villain’s every word. This being said, I would have liked to see the Hunters portrayed as a little more human. After all, they are of a similar age to their leader Jack, so there was definite opportunity for more character nuance and fewer caricatures on that front. However, when one considers that nine out of the 11 cast members are, to borrow a phrase from Codpiece Theatre’s ‘Codcast’, “WAC virgins”, there is no doubt that any of them should leave this show without their heads held high. Dickinson says that this happy coincidence helped the equally fresh-faced production team “never feel like we were taking the experience for granted”, and indeed everyone does seem to throw their souls into the production. The scrapes and scars on the Hunters’ knees after crawling around for much of the show can certainly attest to that. If anything, the energy the cast brings to the first act threatens to completely shatter the audience, but at the bows everyone is both exhausted, yet completely fulfilled.   

Everyone was stunned and amazed at the dropping of a pig’s head from the rafters

Aesthetically, the play is gorgeous. Simon’s ruffled hair and checked shirt perfectly match the character, whilst twins Sam (Izzy Marzolini) and Eric (Libby Bedecker) are similar heights and given matching pigtails. Lighting is used expertly, particularly to create the illusion of fire in a hollow box at the centre of the set. Some of the play’s most effective scenes, however, are staged in complete darkness, with only off-stage voices and a single guiding torch entrancing the audience and increasing the sense of warranted paranoia. The confined space of the Warwick Arts Centre studio makes us complicit in the Hunger Games- esque showdown before us; although one has to sympathise with members of the audience sat at the side of the stage, who were not made to feel as immersed by the cast. However, everyone was stunned and amazed at the dropping of a pig’s head from the rafters, an act that will go down as one of the most unforgettable in Warwick Drama history.  

If I were being pernickety, I would take some issue with certain fight scenes, where punches were not swung close enough to actor’s faces to make them believable. Moreover, the characters who die are left lying on their back, so we can evidently see the actor still breathing. These really are minor criticisms though, and from a technical standpoint, student theatre does not get much better.  

Dictatorships never turn out well, as we learn from Ralph and Jack’s attempts to wrestle for power, but a group of Warwick’s finest artists working together can bring the magic of literature to life

Above anything, it’s good to see a Warwick show with real ambition. Lord of the Flies is by no means an easy story to convey, not least because of some of the problematic ideas in William Golding’s original novel. Dickinson confesses that “it took lots of open discussion in rehearsals to figure out the most appropriate ways to tackle the imagery, language and themes of our adaptation.” One can tell just by this statement that the show was a truly collaborative effort, and that is the key to its success. Dictatorships never turn out well, as we learn from Ralph and Jack’s attempts to wrestle for power, but a group of Warwick’s finest artists working together can bring the magic of literature to life. No man is an island.