“Coming to the stage version of Lord of the Flies, the thing I was struck by was how fundamental characters like Simon, Piggy, Maurice and Bill are to the story. It felt important to me that we should root for Piggy and Simon as much as we do Ralph. And, at the same time, I don't think we should ostracise Jack or Roger just because they are sometimes seen as the villains."

"A large part of that is down to the brilliant company of actors that Jacob Sparrow, the casting director, helped us put together. We were really drawn towards actors who made interesting choices, who made choices that were in line with the text, that were truthful and honest, but also idiosyncratic and felt unique to them.

Part of that is about exploring what it feels like for these boys to be boys at that age, and what it feels like to be marooned and isolated. Why do they make the choices that they make? Understanding that allows us to create these characters that feel three dimensional and real." 

"It's definitely dark, and it is unsettling, but there's also a lot of joy. There are these characters who have an opinion about everything, and they're often not frightened to say what they think. And that forthrightness will hopefully be quite joyful, quite funny. The way that they behave with each other, the energy they bring to the storytelling, and the way they navigate the stage space; all of that should feel really vibrant. I think that should give us a little bit of lightness against the real dark heart of the story."

"I'm really interested in who gets to tell these big classical stories and how these stories get told. What's really brilliant about this company of actors, is that they all have very different life experiences and they're very keen and willing to share what their journey has been up until now. That feels really important. And so, allowing everybody's natural energies and their opinions on the world, and each other’s characters, be present in the rehearsal room means that there's loads of little sparks that fly.

It has certainly made the rehearsal room a joy to be in, and it's a fizzy room. 12 actors who are all really excited to be here and who are really rigorous in their work; robust in their thinking, means that it has been a real place of making and playing."

"There’s also a brilliant creative team of designers, collaborators and theatre makers. We like making work together because we challenge each other. We're drawn towards the less obvious answer, and we're up for seeing how far we can push something before we go, ‘Oh, actually, maybe this is not the right thing’. And that feels like a really thrilling way of making work.” 

You can hear more from Anthony at our Post-Show Talk on Wednesday 24 September at 5.45pm, free to attend but booking is essential. Lord of the Flies runs in the Festival Theatre from 19 September for just three weeks.