Matthew Bourne's THE LORD OF THE FLIES Opens Tonight at The Marlowe Theatre

Young dancers from across the region will join professionals in Matthew Bourne's Lord Of The Flies, at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, today, September 24-27.

Lord Of The Flies is at The Marlowe Theatre from today 24 to Saturday 27 September. Performance times are 7.30pm, with 2.30pm matinees on the Friday and Saturday. Tickets, priced from £15 to £35 (concessions available; booking fee applies), are from the Box Office on 01227 787787, or at marlowetheatre.com.

This is a rare chance for the 22 boys and young men, aged from nine to 21, to work with one of the world's best known choreographers.

Choreographed by Olivier-nominated Scott Ambler, and adapted and directed by Bourne and Ambler, the production, presented by New Adventures and Re:Bourne, is based on the classic novel by William Golding; the action transferred from deserted island to deserted theatre.

A group of schoolboys find themselves abandoned. With no adults around they start to make their own rules and create their own civilisation, before order breaks down and the story builds to an electrifying climax. Golding's legendary characters Ralph, Piggy, Jack and the boys will be brought to life with raw energy and emotional intensity.

The young performers are being mentored by local ambassadors, James Middleton and Chloe Challis, and did a week's boot camp with Matthew Bourne's New Adventures at their space in London, following a masterclass with the man himself.

The dancers are: Owen Dawson (aged 15, from Dover); Kiyia Velasco Mils (15, Herne Bay); Harrison Mogg-Walls (14, Canterbury); Matt Hill (14, Ashford); Elorm Ahorsu (13, Canterbury); Ben Hughes (18, Herne Bay); Adam Strotton (12, Herne Bay); Robert Gain (11, Herne Bay); Benjamin Derham (16, Gillingham); Christopher Taylor (21, Folkestone); Alfie Deegan (14, Rye); Connor White (18, Herne Bay); Callum Oiller (13, Romney Marsh); Luke Lamkin (12, Herne Bay); Noah Weatherby (15, Chilham); Ashlly Ally (13, Canterbury); Harvey Schulver (9, Herne Bay); Joseph J Holgate (14, Tankerton); Samuel Milner (19, Gillingham); Joel Dunning (13, Ashford); Callum McCabe (11, East Grinsted); Zachary Spicer (11, Chartham).

Bourne said: "Lord Of The Flies is a project never before mounted on the large-scale. This unique collaboration between my production company, New Adventures, and charity, Re:Bourne, will enable thousands of young people and their families across the country to experience dance at close hand, and for many, for the very first time."