Cart 0
Cart 0

LORD OF THE FLIES

 

strictly no photography or video during the shows duration. please put phones on silent or turn them off.

Recommended for 13+. Contains violent themes and course language.

The show does use special effects including smoke machine & STROBE LIGHTS.

If you require access for a wheelchair, please see our Front of House Team prior to the show.

There is no BEAST on the island. There is only what we become.
— Louise Bahnson
 

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.

 
P1288792.JPG

the rehearsal floor

 
 
P1300315.JPG

director’s notes

 
 
 
 

Lord of the Flies

is a story about what can happen when the structures that hold us together begin to disappear. It explores some confronting aspects of human nature—fear, power, tribalism and our capacity for cruelty—but throughout this process I have found myself thinking just as much about the opposite: kindness.

When kindness, empathy and our responsibility to one another are actively protected and celebrated, they become extraordinarily powerful forces. When we stop valuing them, however, we leave the door open for fear, division and something much darker to take their place. For me, that feels like a particularly timely reminder.

There is also something wonderfully ironic about telling this story with this particular ensemble. They are an incredibly jovial, energetic group of young people, overflowing with youthful energy, humour and enthusiasm. In many ways, that makes them perfectly cast. The story needs us to first believe in the joy, excitement and possibility of a group of young people suddenly finding themselves without adults or boundaries before we can experience the consequences of what follows. Watching this cast navigate that journey has been one of the great pleasures of directing the production.

From the beginning, our production team also made a conscious decision to keep things simple. Rather than build a literal tropical island, we wanted the performers and the story to remain at the centre of the production. We identified three essential visual elements—the forest, the island and the remnants of the plane wreck—and allowed everything else to grow from them. With these elements established, lighting, movement and our soundscape could transform the same space into the beach, the mountain, the bamboo grove, the shelters, the cave and ultimately Castle Rock. The simplicity has allowed the audience's imagination to do some of the work, while giving our actors the space to tell the story.

Finally, leading young people through the process of making theatre remains one of the great privileges of my career. Strangely, the older I get, the more joy I find in working alongside them. There is something very special about watching a group discover what they are capable of—individually, but particularly as an ensemble.

I have loved working with this cast. They have brought enormous energy to the room, but they have also demonstrated genuine dedication to the work and, importantly, to one another. They have embraced difficult material, trusted the process and taken responsibility for telling this story together.

They have created something of which they should be enormously proud.

I know I am.

With Kindness, Louise Bahnson

 
 
P1300412.JPG
 

BURLEIGH CAST

 

ALEXANDER BRYSON

PIGGY (CAST A) & ENSEMBLE (CAST B)

zach ronan

PIGGY (CAST B) & ENSEMBLE (CAST A)

toby clark

RALPH (CAST A) & SGT WILLS (CAST B)

Eve Saunders

JAY (CAST A) & ENSEMBLE (CAST B)

indigo wallis

PIA (CAST A) & ENSEMBLE (CAST B)

MAGNUS MACKAY

ROGER (CAST A) & ENSEMBLE (CAST B)

NIXON FRASER

ERIC (CAST A & B)

LILLY DEHN

SIMONE (CAST A & B)

Isabela Newton Jaramillo

KARA (CAST A) & ENSEMBLE (CAST B)

IMOGEN Berndt

LIZZY (CAST A) & ENSEMBLE (CAST B)

Cassidy Smart

SOPHIE (CAST A) & ENSEMBLE (CAST B)

sam richardson

RALPH (CAST B) & SGT WILLS (CAST A)

wren malone

JAY (CAST B) & ENSEMBLE (CAST A)

CHELSEA KILL

PIA (CAST B) & ENSEMBLE (CAST A)

AMELIA KENT

RACHEL (CAST B) & ENSEMBLE (CAST A)

SADDIE SMITH

SAM (CAST A & B)

Tahlia Keightley

SKYE (CAST A & B)

MADDOX DREDGE

KANE (CAST B) & ENSEMBLE (CAST A)

DARCEY LONSDALE

LIZZY (CAST B) & ENSEMBLE (CAST B)

Ivy Coryndon

SOPHIE (CAST B) & ENSEMBLE (CAST A)

P1300412.JPG

WRITER

Andrew Wright

director

Louise Bahnson

stage manager

Christie Eckersley

tech operator

Christie Eckersley

make up

Monique Rabie

costume design

Christie Eckersley

lighting design

Christie Eckersley & Louise Bahnson

set design

Christie Eckersley & Louise Bahnson

Video

Louise Bahnson

Photography

Louise Bahnson & Scarlett Bahnson-Wright

PROGRAM DESIGN

Louise Bahnson

front of house TEAM

Tamara Athique

Heiki Bahnson-Wright

and our 2026 Ambassadors

 

Get early access to the production portal for 2026.

Included in the package are all 8 Fast Track Productions shown (Lord of the Flies & The Trial). Videos will be available after the show season has completed.

2026 FAST TRACK PRODUCTIONS
$60.00
One time

 

Production Photo Access for Parents & Friends.

Download the production photos from Lord of the Flies.

Remember if you share via Socials, please tag @goattracktheatre #goattracktheatre #fasttrackproductions.

CLICK LINK FOR PHOTOS HERE

 

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER FAST TRACK PRODUCTIONS IN THESE SHOW SEASON

 

HELENSVALE FAST TRACK ENSEMBLE

THE TRIAL

TUGUN FAST TRACK ENSEMBLE

THE TRIAL

TAMBORINE FAST TRACK ENSEMBLE

LORD OF THE FLIES