It is a wise decision to rid the Birmingham Rep’s Door Theatre of its curtain for this production otherwise its opening scenes would be muffled by the pantomime oohs and aahs of the audience upon seeing the magnificent set – an airplane fuselage and luggage incongruous in a jungle setting.
The audience is soon introduced to Ralph (Luke Ward-Wilkinson) and Piggy (Anthony Roberts), before the plummy choirboys arrive, led by toff Jack (Freddie Watkins), who “has been hunting before”. After a short tussle between Ralph and Jack, Ralph is established as leader and the first official meeting takes place and the heroes and the villain of the piece have been established.
Only Ward-Wilkinson and Roberts add light and shade to their major roles. The former makes what could be a dull leading man into a fascinating anti-hero, and the latter succeeds in being hilarious, irksome and winsome. Ralph and Piggy’s interactions are wonderful to watch. Equally, Simon (Keenan Munn-Francis, particularly affective in his pig skull scene) and Perceval (a cute and competent David Evans) are as fleshed out as their smaller parts allow.
Most of the others are indistinct in character, or inconsistent. Reactions in particular prove a puzzle. Often something will be happening on stage and no one except the character speaking will bat an eyelid.
It is only in moments of banter that the majority of the cast seem to perk up, or in the second half where the savage boys’ individuality is done away with and they act as a unit. There they excel, though why Roger (a strapping Matthew Castle) would bend to Jack’s every will and whim is a mystery. Castle easily looks far stronger and older than every other boy on stage.
The complex yet practical set includes fire pits, drop-down ramps, miniature ladders, ropes and hidden compartments, all of which are gradually unveiled, so that what is man-made and what is of nature become inseparable, if not indistinguishable. Great care has gone into the design of the piece to realise the boys’ descent into barbarity, yet this care is not upheld in all areas of the production.
Why update this to the 21st century? More to the point, I should ask, why update only some parts of this to the 21st century? The boys take a selfie, but throw the phone away when they cannot upload it to Instagram. Eleven and twelve year-olds are not stupid and the play insinuates that they are. Most of the time they speak like children from the 1940s, then they joke about “Bantersaurus Rex.” They sing Miley Cyrus, yet talk about being displaced because of a war that does not exist. Is this an alternate universe? Why stick to the script so religiously in some places and throw in token modern colloquialisms in others?
A gorgeous production and a surefire hit with anyone in their pre-teens or teens, I am sure. It is designed to make young adults think, and it will. I just wish a little more thought had gone into the show itself. ★★★☆☆ Will Amott at the Birmingham Rep on 4th November 2015
Photo by Johan Persson
