Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Providence College’s Blackfriars Theatre’s second show of the year is “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams. Amidst a global conflict, ten children are stranded on a remote island. They band together as a tribe, but factions form once the threat of a monstrous beast is fearfully planted in their minds. A contemporary reimagining of a literary classic, this production throws boys and girls side-by-side in a competition for power that dares to explore our capacity for cruelty. As they explore the island, Rafe emerges as the natural leader due to her commanding maturity. She is helped by Piggy, a nerdy overweight bespectacled person. They use a conch shell to call all the survivors to a summit. Once they meet together, they rejoice in their independence from adult supervision. This is a big change from the strict schools they came from.
However as time goes on they slowly realize they have to take care of themselves and split into two groups; a civilized one intent on finding a way to survive until rescued while the other resorts to their primal instincts and become violent hunters lead by Jack who is egged on by a sadistic, Robin. The sudden appearance of a “monster” that seems to be lurking on this island turns into a violent power struggle. Directors Patrick Mark Saunders and John Garrity cast this show wonderfully and obtain strong performances in this allegorical tale that hits close to home this days in these uncertain and harrowing times we live in. Hopefully contemporary youth will learn that mob mentality and violence isn’t the answer to their problems like the characters finally learn at the end of this show.
The most sympathetic characters in the show are Piggy and Simon. Abdelnasser Zadieyh does a splendid job as Piggy who is verbally abused by one and all because he’s different from the pack. Rafe eventually apologizes for her past transgressions. Piggy is the voice of reason who explains they must make a signal fire and plan to be rescued. Rafe is marvelously portrayed by Amanda Piechota. She commands the stage in this role while delivering a multilayered performance while running the gamut of emotions from snooty to apologetic to compassionate to scared and back to being in control of herself once an adult authority figure appears on the scene.
The other sympathetic character is played fantastically by Daniel Jameson who did an incredible job as Bat Boy in the first show of their season. Simon stutters but is very intelligent. He is also verbally abused by Jack, the choir prefect. When he explores the island searching for the mysterious monster and finds out what it really is. It is at this point tragedy first strikes the band of children on this island. The evilest leaders of the bunch are Jack and Robin played with venom and callousness dripping from their veins played excellently by Timothy Brown and Halle Pratt. I last reviewed Timothy as the heroic Hamlet in the past. So for an advisory tale of today’s out of control political situation, be sure to catch “Lord of the Flies” to wake you up to what an out of control system can be like and how we should definitely learn from our past mistakes for a brighter and saner future.
LORD OF THE FLIES (25 January to 10 February)
Providence College, Blackfriars Theatre, Eaton Street, Providence, RI
1(401)865-2218 or theatre.providence.edu
My son is Abdelnasser Zadieyh: Piggy in the play (you know my opinion).
The production was fantastic and the best for all the players in this play.