New Adventures dance company bring their new adaptation of William Golding’s well-studied classic, Lord of the Flies, to the Alhambra where Leo Owen caught the show
Switching the action from an island to a deserted theatre, Matthew Bourne opens his re-imagining with loud crashing noises and plunges us into complete darkness, adding to this eerie atmosphere with Terry Davies’ score. A large group of boys appear wearing grey shorts, shirts, ties and blazers of a school uniform. While they march back and forth to choir music, one stands alone at the side, showing he’s a spectator and outsider.
Square boxing around each other, the boys are locked in a theatre with mobiles lighting the darkness but no signal to contact parents. Full beam house lights come up, blinding both us and the boys and revealing a scaffold platform that takes up the majority of the stage with large wicker laundry baskets dotted around.
Although there’s no dialogue, aside from the odd war chant, it’s made very clear who is playing Piggy (Sam Plant), Ralph (Sam Archer), Simon (Layton Williams), Sam n’ Eric (Luke Murphy, Philip King) and Jack (Danny Reubens), but to those unfamiliar with the story, the plot is somewhat more ambiguous.
There’s some light relief early on when a “Little’un” is found inside a laundry basket gorging on chocolate, the boys moon together and there’s a food fight to remind us of the carefree joy of youth before it’s corrupted. Overall Bourne’s direction and Scott Ambler’s choreography undoubtedly captures the darkness of Golding’s narrative. Movement is slowed down and blue lights used when the boys mirror planes flying, highlighting the moment they forfeit rescue for hunting. An injured pilot stumbles in, wearing khaki and using a torch to create an uneasy atmosphere, alongside discordant noise. A large hatch door mysteriously opens and closes at the back of the stage, accompanied by strobes and lightening sounds. Spot lights inexplicably appear on the stage and a spooky tally chart, sinisterly showing the passing of time.
Lez Brotherston’s costume changes complement the gradual breakdown of community spirit among the boys as Jack later appears with his tie around his head and a ripped singlet, covered in war paint. A “Little’un” wears pigs ears and a tail to be chased during the iconic “Kill the pig, spill his blood…” scene and later a mounted pig’s head is carried on stage, during a red lit drum barrel war dance.
His clever prop and stage design is equally fitting, using a side box for the book’s top of the mountain exploration to look down on the other boys on the stage. A red circle sun at the back blazes down on the stage and a metal barrel is used with a drum stick to act as Golding’s conch. When the fire goes out, the fire exit sign dims and an early food amnesty from rucksacks results in a “hunting” expedition, involving seeking out theatre snacks like ice cream and McCoy crisps. Coat racks are wheeled on and used as bushes for the “pig” to hide in and a theatre light substitutes the bolder during the story’s climax.
Bourne uses a very masculine style of choreography well-suited to the ever-primal characters. The large teen all-male cast look exhausted at the end but overjoyed too and deservedly. As a purely contemporary dance version of the novel, Bourne’s adaptation is an odd dystopian cross of old and new settings, resulting in some confusing moments: What a pig is doing in a theatre, I’ll never know! Regardless, the company captivate and Golding’s sinister message is ever powerful.
Lord of the Flies concluded its UK tour at Bradford’s Alhambra between December 3-6.