‘All men are created evil’. This the clever slogan that Newtown’s New Theatre has used with Anthony Skuse’s current revival of Nigel Williams’s 1995 stage adaptation of William Golding’s novel THE LORD OF THE FLIES.

Golding tapped into something very eerie, dark and primal in its depiction of a group of teenage boys going troppo on a deserted island when their plane crashes, and they are left to their own devices.

Watching their violent, bullying behaviour being enacted on stage, made me just want to squirm in my seat. Golding really nailed something about humans. Does bullying still exist? What’s that old maxim,-the more things change, the more they remain the same….

Anthony Skuse’s production served Williams’s play well. An aspect that came across strongly in Skuse’s production was how fear created hysteria within the kids and fueled their behaviour. Their fear was crystalised in their angst re the wild beast that the boys believed or, more to the point, imagined inhabiting the island.

A symbol of the boys decline into uncivilised behaviour was the use of the conch. At first the conch is respected, the boy who holds the conch is given the right to speak. At the beginning Ralph holds the conch and is listened to. By the end of the play, the conch is thrown around with abandon and with no meaning attached to it.

The cast perform strongly with Andrew Ryan as Ralph, who manages to maintain some of dignity, and Samuel Rushton as the victimised and grossly bullied Piggy, impressing in the leading roles.

David Marshall-Martin’s tilting set, Paul Matthews’s grotesque, monster like masks and Alistair Wallace’s atmospheric soundscape all added to the production.

Anthony Skuse’s production of THE LORD OF THE FLIES opened at the New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown on Thursday 10th April and runs until Saturday 12th May, 2012.

(c) David Kary

19th April,2012

Tags: Sydney Theatre Reviews- THE LORD OF THE FLIES, New Theatre, Newtown, Anthony Skuse