“Lord of the Flies” performed at Tuscarora High School

A Cappies Review by Sarah Baker, Loudoun Valley High School

Alone, with no food, no shelter, and no adult supervision—what will these boys do to survive? Form a pig-head-worshiping tribe, of course.

In Lord of the Flies, the 1954 novel by Willim Golding, a group of young boys crash land on a deserted island and have to fight to survive and establish control within the chaos. Tuscarora High School put on an amazing performance, from set design to costumes, to accents, to sound, that had the audience hooked until the very end.

Self absorbed and, of course, never wrong, Jack, wonderfully played by Claudia Hunn, was an incredible character to watch be brought to life. Throughout the show, Jack slowly loses himself, giving into the drunken feeling of power as he continues to abuse his “subordinates.”

From school rules to rituals, Jack felt a need to be in control of the situation from the very beginning to the end of the show. Hunn painted Jack in a slightly varied light in each scene, with subtle changes where one can’t even tell Jack’s gone over the edge until it’s too late, screaming at people to earn their fear rather than respect.

Even though they were in only one act, Queen Kincaide’s Simon had a tremendous impact on the story and audience alike. Simon was originally shown as a quieter character, going along with what the others said and trying to comfort the younger characters.

Later in the show, however, Simon goes to find the beast and slowly goes mad along the way in the dark forest. Simon was reciting stories to no one in particular, and then when they reached the pig head, they completely lost it. The actor did an incredible job, wailing and screaming at the voices only Simon could hear. When they ran back to warn the others, all Simon got for this was an impactful, artful, dramatic death.

While some are out giving in to barbarian natures, Ralph, played by Amanda Anthony, tries to keep a semblance of order. Ralph tries to hold meetings, establish the rules of the conch and the fire, but no one wants to listen— to the boys, it’s all a game.

Anthony showed wonderful depth of character from the start of the show, watching Ralph slowly lose hope that someone would rescue them. By the end, Piggy’s death (played by DJ Levi) finally sets him over the edge, and Ralph starts to lose his mind. Ralph mutters under his breath to no one in particular, and eventually gives up on running, just giving in to their fate. When Jack throws Piggy’s glasses back to Ralph, they let out a heart wrenching, guttural scream that stayed with the audience as the final impact of the show.

The set, makeup, lighting, and sound had an incredible impact upon the show. From the individually placed rocks on the hill to the mood-setting lights, the setting was impeccable.

The makeup special effects added so much to the play, showing the progression of time as each actor became more and more bloodied and bruised, especially during the “initiation” with the pig’s blood.

The lights showed the differentiation between scenes, and the color changes completely affected the mood on the stage from nighttime to character deaths. The background noises really pulled everything together: seagulls chirping to remind you you’re at the beach along with the occasional crashing waves.

In total, Tuscarora’s cast and crew put together an amazing performance, showing the audience an encapsulating story of the savagery of humans. Luckily, it wasn’t real. It was all just a game, wasn’t it?