Lord of the Flies: A flawless production and a showcase for the next generation of outstanding British actors

Alistair Toovey as Ralph

Hit Don't Miss nearly did miss this stunning visual treat at the Open Air Theatre in London's Regent's Park, due to adverse weather conditions on the day we were booked to see the show. After windsurfing down the Euston Road (open-toed sandals and cropped jacket acting as woefully inadequate board and sail), we approached the theatre with grumpy trepidation despite assurances by the play's publicist that the sun was 'DEFINITELY' shining in Regent's Park.  Unusually for a publicist, she was telling the complete truth, and the fairy lights above the bar, lanterns on the lawn and glimpses of the battered fuselage and simulated smoke coiling to the sky from the outdoor stage made us so excited that we nearly forgot to buy two large glasses of red wine before finding our seats.


The novel upon which this play is based, about a group of schoolboys whose plane has crashed on a tropical island with no adult survivors, is universally acknowledged to be a timeless and outstanding examination of the human condition in adversity.  A big job then for the man entrusted with adapting it for the stage, but one that award-winning writer Nigel Williams does with sensitivity and success. The set design is  fantastic, harbouring the dual qualities of haunting beauty and complete functionality, and offset by some of the best lighting we've seen in a very long time, from Bush associate artist, James Farncombe. The spaces that are lost and found, highlighted and rejected, made terrifying, welcoming, violent and safe through the use of the Jon Bausor's design and Farncombe's lighting is an absolute joy to behold.

Alistair Toovey as Ralph and George Bukhari as Piggy

The absolute highlight of the evening though, is the cast of unstoppable young actors, most of whom are making their professional stage debut in Lord of the Flies. They are the most exciting ensemble cast since The History Boys, Alistair Toovey, George Bukhari and James Clay move and function on the stage as if they had been born and raised on it. Bukhari's physicality as Piggy is exceptional, provoking humour and sympathy in equal measures.  Clay, as the bully Jack is utterly terrifying and entirely convincing, and Toovey as Ralph, the impressionable moralist of the story, portrays his character with a delicacy rarely seen in such a young actor. The role of Perceval the child was played on the night we visited, by Harrison Sansostri, whose vigour and innocence and head of curly blonde hair appeared to leave every female in the audience desperate to rescue him with a cuddle and a fairy story.   

 

We say: the best young ensemble cast since The History Boys 

The rain held off throughout the evening, but this is England after all so be prepared for the chills as soon as the sun goes down; take several layers with you (and a hip flask for extra warmth probably wouldn't go amiss). The play runs until the 18th June - get your tickets now and catch this highlight of the summer season before it's too late.