Right, Village — sharpen your sticks and keep an eye on the conch, because Chichester Festival Theatre has just announced the full gang for Lord of the Flies, running 19 September – 11 October (press night Thursday 25 September). This isn’t your cosy island getaway — it’s William Golding’s modern classic, adapted by Nigel Williams and directed by Anthony Lau, and it’s about to get wild.
We’ve got Hiroki Berrecloth (Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) as Maurice, Sheyi Cole (The Beautiful Game) as Ralph, Ali Hadji-Heshmati (Lockwood & Co) as Simon, Bertie Hawes as Eric, Alfie Jallow as Piggy, Cal O’Driscoll (Vikings: Valhalla) as Roger, Nevil Patel making his professional debut as Henry, Ruben Reuter (The Dumping Ground) as Perceval, Ethan Rouse as Sam, Jonathan Savage as the Parachutist/Naval Officer, Tucker St. Ivany as Jack, and Riley Woodford as Bill.
The set-up? A plane crash strands a bunch of schoolkids on a desert island. No adults. No rules. Just sand, coconuts, and a fast descent into chaos. Ralph and Piggy try to keep things civilised, but uniforms and manners soon give way to face paint, rival tribes, and… well… let’s just say things get a tad stabby. With the outside world already at war, the question is — can anyone be rescued before it’s too late?
Anthony Lau, who’s been Associate Artistic Director at Sheffield Theatres (The Crucible, Miss Saigon, Rock/Paper/Scissors), is at the helm. Design is by Georgia Lowe, lighting by Matt Daw, music and sound by Giles Thomas, movement by Aline David, musical direction from Chris Poon, and fight/intimacy work by Bethan Clark. Casting is by Jacob Sparrow.
Tickets start at £10 via cft.org.uk or 01243 781312. Prologue members aged 16–30 can grab seats for just a fiver — sign up free at cft.org.uk/prologue.
Oh, and if you hear a rustle in the bushes on the way home… maybe walk a bit faster.
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