There can’t be any better setting for a theatre adaptation of Lord Of The Flies than the Open Air Theatre, other than maybe the island they used for Lost. William Golding’s classic critique on human nature and society kicked off a new season at the Open Air Theatre in May 2011 at Regent’s Park.
It opened on the 19th May 2011 and ran through to the 18th June 2011 as a part of the outdoor programme of four productions that were scheduled for the summer’s open air theatre season. It was followed by The beggar’s Opera, Pericles and Crazy For You later in the year, but it was Lord Of The Flies that stood out.
Adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams, the series of performance had been created by the same team that delivered the critically acclaimed production of The Crucible in the previous year. Tracing the storyline of a group of British schoolboys stranded on a desert island, the play made the most out of the green setting of Regent’s Park to bring the wild adventure to life.
The group of children, left to their own devices, try to piece together a pseudo-society, with the all powerful conch dictating who can talk. However, differing strings of human nature interconnect and pull the group in different direction with an excellent critique of humanity and society at the heart of the story.
Prices for tickets to see one of the the 2011 performances of Lord Of The Flies ranged from £14 to £41 for the reduced price previews and they went up to between £19 to £46 after the press performance took place on the 25th May 2011. There was also a post show discussion following the matinee performances on the 9th and 16th June, which gave the audience the opportunity to dive even deeper behind the themes and story of William Golding’s fantastic book.
The production has inevitably come to a close now, however, to catch up on the latest goings on in Regent’s Park, visit our Open Air Theatre 2014 page to see all of the theatre, music, comedy and films on the cards for the 2014 calendar, including another run of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird.
