BWW Reviews: LORD OF THE FLIES, Greenwich Theatre, February 28 2012

Lord of the Flies – or Beelzebub from the Arabic – has plenty of teenage boys’ devilish behaviour, but not in the sense of boundaries being tested in those first few steps into the adult world. This devilish behaviour is rooted in an atavistic regression that fills a world devoid of adults, a world unanchored by the much-longed for rules, a world in which the symbols of authority are mocked because there is no authority. And if a desert island setting after a fictional nuclear war seems a little distant, England’s riots last summer showed just how relevant William Golding’s 1954 vision remains.

Sell-a-Door’s production stays loyal to the book, pitting boy against boy, amorality vs morality, ideas vs action on a stage covered with sand, populated by boys smeared by blood. With just a few props, hills, jungle and fire are all suggested - though what emerges most clearly is the hideous psychological prison that captures those given limitless physical freedom but not the tools to deal with it.

Under David Hutchinson’s sure direction, the young ensemble cast are charismatic, repugnant, pitiable and evil as they inhabit their characters’ descent from schoolboy adventuring to murderous warring. Ben Wiggins’ Ralph is suitably earnest and insightful, but lacks the kind of will that Leni Riefenstahl celebrated in the 1930s, a will brought terrifyingly to life by Mark Smedley as Jack. Decent everyman, Piggy, is beautifully played by Daniel Buckley, forging a connection with the audience that provokes gasps and (I suspect) a few tears, as his inevitable destiny is fulfilled.

Having not read the novel, nor seen either of its two film adaptations, I was surprised by how much I was reminded of Lindsay Anderson’s seminal movie “If”, another account of what happens to hormonal boys bereft of authority – but that's not a bad comparator. This production is ideal for teens studying the book for academic purposes, but it’s also a stark reminder to those at the other end of the age spectrum that to be human is not the same thing as to be humanitarian.

Lord of the Flies is at Greenwich Theatre until 4 March 2012 and on tour.