Lord of the Flies Play Essay

Lord of the Flies is a play about a group of evacuees who have had a plane crash. All the adults are dead and the group of boys are now left to survive by themselves on a desert island, that at first seems like paradise. They become split into two different groups. One group has Ralph as their leader and they try to stay civilised and normal, but the other group lead by Jack act like savages and at first they only kill a wild pig that is already on the island. The social influence of class divide on the island was shown well by the Pilot theatre company. It was clear to the audience who had a higher status on the island. They used their spoken language as one of the main differences. For example Piggy was from a lower class background and was therefore inferior to the rest of them. He spoke using very common language and the other boys teased him because of it. He was very much an outcast on the island and his clothes were like rags compared to the Public school boy’s posh outfits. Piggy was never part of the group; he always stood slightly on the outside of the circle. One of the cultural influences on the play was a child’s capacity to murder intentionally. This came out through Jack and his followers. The theatre company showed that like the James Bulgier killers they thought about who and why they were going to kill. Their reasons weren’t good reasons but they were enough for them to decide it had to be done. They used their physical strength and power over others like bully’s do. They decided the way to go and if you didn’t fit in then you would be discarded of. It was rather like the war that was going on in the outside world at the time where if you were a Jew you had to be destroyed. The way Jack lead his gang was from a very Fascist viewpoint. At the beginning they used Democracy to decide who was going to be leader and Ralph was the one who was voted for. Jack was very angry with this, as he wanted to be in control. He wanted total power over the rest of the group and he didn’t like the way Ralph tried to organise everyone. In the play the characters built a fire at the top of a hill on the island. The theatre company used a small real fire on the stage and a small red spot light to give the audience the idea of the fire. When the fire spreads out of control they mostly just use themselves and their acting to show the fire. I thought this was very effective because with the real fire on stage the audience could visualise what it would have looked like. I thought that the fire came to represent hope and survival because it was their only way of signalling to passers by where they were. They used Piggy’s glasses to make the fire and they were the only way they could make a fire so these also represented the boy’s survival. Whoever held the glasses was the most powerful person on the island because of what they symbolised and they were taken from Ralph’s gang by Jack. This showed that he was more powerful and fitter than the others. The theatre company also used levels to show his status. They put his camp higher up on the stage, which demonstrates his domination and superiority. He also had the pig’s head from the pig that he killed on a pole at the entrance to his camp to show off his power but also his bloodthirsty madness. At the beginning the lighting was a bright blue in the background and a bright white in the foreground. The lighting scheme darkened throughout the play as the atmosphere became tenser. It was a shock and a strong dramatic anti-climax at the end when the extremely bright white helicopter lights came down. This symbolised the rescue and the return from darkness. White is a very clean colour which contrasted with the dirty greens and reds used for most of the play. It illustrated to the audience the change from a murderous gloom to normality. It is the realisation of what has happened to them on this island. On the first night that they stay on the island the dark red light in Ralph’s camp signifies the fire and all that is attached to that. They cross-faded the darkness to show the divide between the two gangs. There was a back projection behind the action that reflected the action that was taking place on the stage. They used the lighting to illustrate the storm and their fear by creating a lightning effect in the background. Techno music was used in this play to demonstrate the savage, frantic, mad agitated and ritualistic atmosphere on the island. The most noticeable time that it was used was at the beginning of the play during the plane crash. It created tension, anticipation and a climax at the very beginning to get the audience interested right from the start. They also used choir music as a symbol of who they were, their class and their innocence at the beginning. It contrasted greatly with the more sinister sounds in the second half of the play. There were lots of natural sounds used to show that they were out on their own with nature. The audience could always hear always lots of flies making them think about the title of the play. At the end of the play there was calming chill out music to signify the end of the trauma. They used a female voice because it sounds softer, more angelic and soothing. The whole group started the play off with this frantic, repetitive dance. This symbolised the plane crash. There was always a quick pace during the hunts and their movements were slightly jumpy and alert like they were about to pounce on something. It showed the tension, excitement and nerves they felt while they were out to get something. Jack is quite posh so he uses more sophisticated language compared to Piggy. He also wears a hat to show that he is the leader of the choir. This is another thing that sets him higher than the other characters. In the beginning their voices were quite light and jokey. It was like they weren’t taking their situation seriously, but as the play progressed Jack’s voice became sterner, stronger and slightly hysterical. Ralph’s was determined but got weaker and more helpless. Piggy’s was always whiney and attention seeking. I thought that these were good characterisations and I probably would have done it the same, although I might have made Jack slightly meaner than he was. The choir seems very innocent at the start and they are very proud of their uniforms. They are all wearing similar quite formal things to represent their respect for their heritage and their social status. Ralph’s costume is relaxed and laid-back compared to the rests he seems more genuine and open than the Public school boys. Piggy wears scruffy old clothes. Roger was the most savage of them at the start and he also had the least costume. Their clothes are a symbol of civilisation and culture and they try to use them to get back to reality. They clung on to uniforms for security and structure. The costumes are a strong symbol of class and divide. Jack’s gang cover themselves in war paint, feathers and blood showing their savagery. It also represents their strength power and ruthlessness. The more they lost their clothes, the more they lost sight of civilisation. This is the symbol of them turning to the wild. Jack’s gang lost the most clothes and they also becam e the most savage. This play is very much about the survival of the fittest, which is why Jack came out the best because he was willing to do anything he thought he needed to do in order to survive. The play also shows the audience that we are all savages on the inside and that we need society and rules to guide us the direction of civilisation. At the start of the performance Ralph takes up lots of space to show his confidence, but he gradually became more slumped as the play progressed, until he was a crying ball on the floor unable to speak for himself. Jack stood tall throughout the play, which shows us that he beat Ralph both mentally and physically like a bully. Jack takes Ralph’s space away from him to show his strength and fearlessness. The set design was multifunctional. The plane parts were easily moved by the actors unnoticeably during the play and could be to the audience whatever the actors imagined it to be. The wing came to represent death because it was where they killed Simon and it was tipped to create the cliff where they killed Piggy. The wing was also metallic which showed the reflected sun and the heat. They could also use the set to make noises like during the hunts. They banged it to create atmosphere and tension and they ran through it like it was the maze of the jungle. They could change the angles of the set to show the different parts of the island. Ralph’s camp was under the plane, which makes the audience think that they are hiding from Jack. The way the ripped up plane is always on the stage both ruins paradise and is a constant reminder of why they are there. It is also a symbol of the ugliness of what they have done and it shows the divide between the two groups. The plastic backdrop glittered and rippled to show the sea. I thought the way the set was produced by the theatre company was both effective from the audiences point of view and the actors. This is because of the way it could be changed easily and it made the audience fell like they were there too. The divide between the two gangs represented civilisation v savagery. Ralph’s gang representing civilisation and Jack’s gang representing savagery. They both choose their different paths and out there with no one to take charge brute force won over the democratic ways of civilisation. Overall I thought that the Pilot theatre company’s use of Drama Mediums and the Elements of Drama were very effective in communicating the themes and the social, cultural and historical influences on the play. Not only did they use these very well but I also found the performance enjoyable and interesting.