Lord of the Flies: A Descent into Darkness
PUBLISHED March 18th, 2016 06:00 am | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 03:04 pm
Adapted from William Golding’s dark and gritty novel, Lord of the Flies by Nigel Williams is a tale about the decline of civilization and the loss of innocence. Opening on 25 March 2016, this rendition of Lord of the Flies is produced by Sight Lines Productions and Blank Space Theatre, with direction by Samantha Scott-Blackhall.
The Story
A group of schoolboys find themselves the lone survivors on a deserted island after a plane crash. By day, the island is a tropical paradise of sun and sea, but by night, is terrorized by their nightmares of a terrifying beast. It’s like teenage version of “Survivor” and “Lost” combined; exploring the conflicts of peer pressure, bullying, gang rivalry, power dynamics, and the dichotomy of good and evil that is within all of us.
The original novel and play is set in the 1950s – after World War II with the Cold War looming – and featuring white, middle-class English school boys as protagonists. This version, however, anchors the story within the context of local male students on a school trip out of Singapore to another part of Asia – making the production more relevant to its audience.
Previously staged in 2007 and also directed by Scott-Blackhall, the show was forced to close early as one of the lead actors injured himself. The 2016 production has an all-new cast and new direction, as well as award-winning actor Lim Yu Beng as the action choreographer. With loads of movement on stage – think fights, running around, and parrying – that moves between the beach, jungle, and cliff sets, this is going to be one action-packed play!
Meet the cast of Lord of the Flies:
Please tell us about the character you play.
Ghafir Akbar (GA): I play Ralph, the elected leader of the group. He is very democratic sort of leader and draws clear objectives and goals to help them to be rescued from the island. However, he is met with a lot of resistance in the way he wants to run the group.
Lim Kay Siu (LKS): I play Piggy. He’s logical, sensible, but physically weak, thus not a leader, but potentially a victim of bullying, if not for Ralph.
Lian Sutton (LS): I play Sam, one of the twin brothers aptly named ‘Samneric’. Wide-eyed but also full of fear, he will do anything for his brother Eric.
Gavin Yap (GY): I play Eric, one of the twins. He’s a pretty meek kid, very dependent on his twin brother Sam. He and Sam end up being part of Ralph’s gang after the kids split into two groups.
How are you preparing for this role?
GA: We’ve been having a lot of conversations in the rehearsal room about the function of each character in the play, like what does each character represent in this new society that they are building? We make comparisons with modern day history (sometime even biblical) and try to find a larger context for the audience who will come and watch this play. So, for me, preparing means making sure the story of the character is revealed with these ideas in mind.
LKS: My teenage years in boarding school have come flooding back. I’m trying to select what is useful. Next step is to develop deeper connections with my fellow actors, all the while trying to be faithful to the director’s vision.
LS: Like with any role, I use as much as I can from whatever sources I can lay my hands on. Anything that leads me to a better entry point into the character.
GY: I’m a big fan of the ‘get all the lines out in the right order and don’t bump into the furniture’ school of acting, so I tend to start there. We’ve also had the opportunity to hang out with some kids and observe them, but mainly it’s just focusing on the script and making sure I know what I’m doing.
What has been the biggest challenge for you in this production?
GA: It’s a very challenging play to put together. There are a lot of speeches that might seem simple on the surface but can come across as insulting or degrading if not treated delicately. The challenge is then to treat it with much care and sensitivity so it doesn’t come across as trivial.
LKS: There is a fine balance when playing adolescents – half-men-half-boys. That will be the biggest challenge for all of us. And to play with different rates of growing up!
LS: Getting in sync with my fellow twin has been quite the doozy. But extremely rewarding when we just click. Which is essentially the way Samneric are, they just click.
GY: Trying to portray a 12-year old kid without looking like an adult trying to not look like he’s playing a kid.
Before we go, director Samantha Scott-Blackhall leaves us with these thoughts: “This play is about human behaviour, right and wrong, innocence and evil. The play discusses what it means to have a moral conscience. Are we born with one? Do we develop one? The play is about leadership, good or bad. And the extremes we go to in order to survive.”
Lord of the Flies is on at SOTA Studio Theatre from 25 March to 3 April 2016. For more information and tickets, please see Peatix.
Images: Mark Wee
