Lord of the Flies

Presented by Pilot Theatre

Pilot Theatre, a national touring company based at Theatre Royal York in England, made its Bermuda Festival debut this week at the Ruth Seaton James Centre For the Performing Arts with its award-wining production of Lord of the Flies.

The play, adapted by Nigel Williams and directed by Marcus Romer, is based on William Golding's 1954 classic of that name. The production is nothing short of a masterpiece. True to Golding's vision, it presents an alarming descent from civility into graphic anarchy.

This is an inspirational piece of theatre and has justly enjoyed much critical acclaim since it was first produced ten years ago. It has played to more rhan 500,000 people in more than 60 different venues and has completed five national UK tours.

The plot, true to the novel, tells the story of a plane that has crashed on an uninhabited island. The only survivors are a group of schoolboys. They are left to fight for survival without their customary parameters or direction, namely schools, teachers, rules, homes or parents. Before long the fragile sense of order they seek to establish by way of self-governance begins to collapse.

With the discovery of "The Beast" their games begin to take on a more sinister nature. The play, as in the novel, seeks to explore universal truths about the delicate balance that exists between human nature and civility. How alarmingly quickly it is that a once disciplined group of school children turns to bloodthirsty savagery.

At times the riveting, dramatic interplay between the characters reaches an almost violent intensity. Its content is disturbing and the breakdown in their relationships and ensuing descent into chaos dark and arresting.

Simple yet striking technical effects of light and sound to suggest everything from a plane crash to island sounds, pursuit and butchery of a wild boar followed by the killing of some of their own and the final arrival of a helicopter at the play's end give the drama a vivid, contemporary resonance.

The dynamic, flexible set, suggesting a crashed plane's broken tail and fuselage, is exploited masterfully by director Mr. Romer to add depth and perspective to the vocal and visual aggression played out before us.

The ensemble work produced by this cast of eight displays some impressive synergy. The concept that these are a set of boys bound by desperate circumstances is entirely convincing. Although the plot tells of division and disharmony, from an artistic standpoint we see each character beautifully drawn and the essential balance existing between them.

The company brought a clarity and simplicity to its staging which make the play's message all the more powerful. This was a potent and thought-provoking piece of theatre and the contemporary parallels with the modern age innumerable. Resounding applause greeted the cast as the house lights rose and then silence from an audience provoked to some deep reflection.

Lord of the Flies continues tonight and tomorrow night. This is a production not to be missed.