Theatre Review: Young Rep Festival of Order and Chaos: Lord of the Flies

Trigger warning: This article contains themes which are sensitive and may be upsetting

Lord of The Flies, The Company 22nd July

Lord of the Flies was the final play of two weeks of politically-charged and troubling performances from the Young Rep, and what a dazzling place to end. From the outset this was a fast-paced and flawless performance from The Company, filled with the weird, the wonderful, and the downright disturbing.

Lord of The Flies sees a group of school children band together on a seemingly paradise-esque island following a plane crash. It tracks their disastrous attempts to restore order to the group – and the chaos which ensues. Like The Trials and Noughts and Crosses, it is concerned with rationality and emotion, individual and group identity, power and powerlessness, and the consequences of unthinkable violence.

This was a fast-paced and flawless performance…filled with the weird, the wonderful, and the downright disturbing

The production looks to be incredible from the first minute. It opens with some truly impressive movement sequences which see this final group of young actors irrevocably prove their talent, as lights flash, the auditorium buzzes with sound, and the cleverly-blocked groups move with amazing dexterity around the stage. The choreography is whip-smart and is the perfect choice of an opening.

This production has also cleverly changed some of the originally all-male characters to female, for example Sam is ‘she’ instead of he, and Eric becomes ‘Erin.’ This is done smoothly and without any real changes to the actual plot and certainly added to the gender dynamics of the play. Where it is originally Simon in the book who wanders about the island, psychologically disturbed and horrified by the image of an imaginary beast, this time it is Alice, a girl mocked and belittled by her school fellows, eventually subject to a brutal mistake by the islanders.

This festival has showcased the absolute best of Birmingham’s young people

As the story progresses, various characters try again and again to assert authority and dominance, each time failing and falling victim to the desperate herd mentality of the group. It is only tall, towering and muscly Jack whose booming voice and authority through threat manage to lead a group to hunt with him. Increasingly hopeless and alone, the groups of children exhibit feral, war-like behaviour. It is a careful examining of recklessness and the human need for belonging. Primitive dances, doing anything by any means in order to make fire, and sharing terrible paranoia, this group of actors display their extraordinary talent for bizarre and difficult characterisation. They are fast-paced, assured, and luminescent on stage. The transitions are smooth and the scene changes waste no time propelling the plot forward. The production includes further electric movement sequences and astute dialogue.

As chaos ensues on stage and it reaches its dramatic conclusion, it is clear that this festival has showcased the absolute best of Birmingham’s young people and the acting talent of this endlessly creative city. This closing performance of the Order and Chaos festival was a smash-hit five star production to be phenomenally proud of.