LORD OF THE FLIES

WRITTEN BY ANDREW WRIGHT (ADAPTED FROM WILLIAM GOLDING’S NOVEL)

A plane carrying a group of young people fleeing a world at war is shot down over a remote tropical island. With the adults killed in the crash and an injured security officer their only remaining connection to authority, the survivors are suddenly left to fend for themselves.

At first, there is hope. Ralph emerges as the group's elected leader and, with the support of the intelligent but frequently ridiculed Piggy, attempts to establish order. The conch becomes a symbol of democracy and a signal fire their best chance of rescue. They build shelters, search for food and explore their extraordinary new home.

But the fragile society they create quickly begins to fracture.

As fear of a mysterious "beast" spreads through the group, Jay offers something increasingly more seductive than Ralph's rules: strength, freedom and protection. Hunting becomes ritual, faces are painted, boundaries are drawn and the children divide into opposing tribes.

When fear becomes a weapon, violence follows.

The disappearance of Sergeant Wills and the death of Simone accelerate the group's descent. The conch loses its authority, the signal fire is abandoned and Jay's hunters establish themselves at Castle Rock, where loyalty to the tribe matters more than truth.

Eventually, Piggy and Ralph make one final attempt to appeal to reason. It ends catastrophically. Piggy is killed, the conch's power is destroyed, and Ralph becomes the hunters' final prey.

As the island burns and the tribe closes in for the kill, a gunshot suddenly brings the hunt to an end. An officer has arrived.

Civilisation has returned.

But confronted with the adults who have come to rescue them, the survivors must face an altogether more difficult question: how do they explain what they have become?

William Golding's iconic story is reimagined as a visceral contemporary examination of power, fear, belonging and the frightening fragility of civilisation in Andrew Wright’s new piece.

BURLEIGH CAST

DIRECTED BY LOUISE BAHNSON

TAMBORINE CAST

DIRECTED BY CHRISTIE ECKERSLEY