Bourne Adapts Lord of the Flies Dance Drama

Matthew Bourne is adapting William Golding’s classic 1954 novel Lord of the Flies into a new dance theatre piece, which will open at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal, running from 2 to 5 March in 2011, the year marking the centenary of Golding’s birth.

In Bourne’s multimedia dance version, the story is transferred from a deserted island to a deserted theatre, where a group of schoolboys find themselves abandoned. With no adults around they start to create their own rules and to build their own civilisation. As time passes, the rituals become more disturbing as dark superstitions take hold. Order finally breaks down and blood is spilt as Ralph, Piggy, Jack and the boys grapple with the ‘beast within’.

Lord of the Flies is devised and directed by Matthew Bourne, co-directed and choreographed by Scott Ambler and designed by Lez Brotherston, with music by Terry Davies, lighting by Chris Davey, sound by Paul Groothuis and film sequences created by Alan Stockdale.

The cast will include professional dancers from Bourne’s New Adventures company performing alongside local boys and young men. The New Adventures production is the culmination of a year-long collaboration which began when Glasgow Theatres was awarded £265,905 in 2009 by Creative Scotland as part of a £2.5million National Lottery Inspire Fund. It’s spearheaded by Glasgow Theatres’ Creative Learning team, working in partnership with New Adventures, Re:Bourne and West Dunbartonshire.

Commenting on the project, Matthew Bourne said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by Glasgow Theatres’, and then funded by Creative Scotland to initiate this unprecedented dance project in Glasgow. To combine the talents of professional dancers and promising young local talent to create an original production, using all of New Adventures world-class creative team, is surely unique?

“This will be the first major initiative for my charity Re:Bourne, whose principal aim is to expand the accessibility and understanding of dance/theatre and to encourage widespread participation in dance both as participants and audience members. I am particularly happy that this project is aimed at young men and will help to lift the stigma that is still sometimes attached to their involvement in dance.”