Lord of the Flies is a 2026 revival of Nigel Williams 1990s adaption of William Golding’s 1954 book. After a plane carrying a group of prepubescent British private schoolboys crash lands on a deserted island, the boys find themselves unaccompanied by adults and relying on each other to survive.
However, any semblance of working together to last until rescue quickly falls away as the pack deteriorates into tribalism, cruelty, and murder; Boys will be boys.
The action takes place on an exaggerated raked stage, with two levels of scaffolding upstage at the rear. The incline is an effective stylised representation of the island, while also serving as a projection screen for times when a video camera is brought out to highlight a grisly moment in more detail.
Considering the culture as it stands in 2026, including recent headlines involving private schoolboys in NSW, there is an antiquatedness to the story of Lord of the Flies despite the ages of the characters.
Director Steven Mitchell Wright and his cast do good work in shaking off any quaint quality with a brash, energetic production that empties the dramaturgic cupboard of every theatrical technique and device you can think of.
Sean Yuen Halley brought a level of brutality to the role of Jack that at times had you turning your head away. Yet, for all Jack’s physicality, it’s his use of language and how that language degrades that’s most compelling – something Sean charts brilliantly from his first pompous prefect declarations to later regressed descriptions of “The Beast.”
Oliver Cowen plays Piggy, pretty much the lone voice of reason among the group, and a tormented, persecuted one at that. From the outset, Cowen presents Piggy as damaged, almost to a fault. He is already so painfully vulnerable that it seems there is nowhere further for the character to go. As it turns out, sadly, there is: ultimately, to the bottom of a cliff.
With Piggy, we meet a boy already bearing the scars of playground PTSD, whose appeals for common sense only see him mocked and belittled further. Cowen captures his vulnerability with a tragic and engaging performance, making Piggy’s fate all the more affecting.
Ralph is a character caught in two worlds, whose initial capitulation to wanting to have fun and be liked by the “cool” kids (they’re in the choir, Ralph – they’re not as cool as you think) in many ways permits everything that follows. Angus Leighton gives a fantastic performance of a boy in conflict that even rescue from the island will offer no relief from.
As much as Ralph and Jack are at odds story-wise, it’s in the characters of Roger and Simon where we find much of the thematic battle. Roger is a cruel and malevolent force, while Simon remains grounded, kind, and clear-headed.
Charlie Veitch imbued Roger with an admirable-if-terrifying amount of malignity, while Sam Finn Gudgeon portrayed Simon with a captivating amount of sense and curiosity – he was never going to last long.
Indeed, the fact we lose Simon to the hysterical mob before the end of Act 1 is possibly the one element of this superb production that resonates strongest with today’s cynical culture.
Lord of the Flies
Theatre Works, 14 Acland Street, St Kilda
Performance: Tuesday 22 September 2026
Season continues to 2 October 2026
Information and Bookings: www.theatreworks.org.au
Images: Blaise Tindale, Oliver Cowen, Charlie Veitch, Sean Yuen Halley, Oliver Gorringe, Declan Magee, Darcy Crawford, William Bastow in Lord of the Flies – photo by Matthew Chen | Sean Yuen Halley, Oliver Cowen and Angus Leighton in Lord of the Flies – photo by Matthew Chen | Oliver Cowen and Angus Leighton in Lord of the Flies – photo by Matthew Chen | Alvin Prasad, William Bastow and Sam Finn Gudgeon in Lord of the Flies – photo by Matthew Chen
Review: June Collins