“ A great showcase for Next Stage Youth, they’ve set the bar high”
"Sometimes the beast takes the shape of a man. And sometimes it’s like an animal. And sometimes it looks like a little boy" (Jack Act 3)
Evacuated from a war-torn world and marooned on a tropical island when their aeroplane crashes, a group of pre-adolescent boys find themselves battling for survival with no adults to help them.
At first, the fair-minded and mild-mannered Ralph seems a natural leader, but as vestiges of civilisation fall away, the more aggressive Jack takes control. Jack organises the boys into a tribe of hunters, searching for pigs to kill and eat and, more alarmingly, watching for the Beast - a malevolent force that the boys believe is stalking the island.
Gradually the frightened youngsters slip from civilised behaviour into red-blooded savagery. They battle with inner demons and external fears, with the weakest and most vulnerable at the highest risk. Ultimately, driven by a primitive blood-lust, childish “games” lead to tragic consequences and Golding’s timeless fable exposes the Beast that is in us all and debunks the myth of childhood innocence.
Required reading for most secondary school pupils and one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century, this adaptation of Lord of the Flies by Nigel Williams stays true to Golding’s original novel and is a compelling piece of theatre.
Performed by a stellar cast from Next Stage’s acclaimed Youth theatre, and presented in conjunction with The Telegraph Bath Children's Literature Festival, do not miss this powerful production.
