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When you hear the words “Lord of the Flies,” you probably instantly think of power-crazed little boys running around an island creating havoc and violence. Right? William Golding's 1954 novel follows a group of young boys who, upon finding themselves stranded on an uninhabited island, build their own little society, which soon descends into chaos and brutality. But although it has come to be known as a study of the dangers of masculinity and the human capacity for cruelty, the BBC's new version offers a new perspective on the classic castaway tale.
Penned by writer Jack Thorne, whom you may remember for his work on last year's Adolescence, this Lord of the Flies seeks not to blame the boys, but rather to understand them. Take Jack, one of the cruellest boys on the island. Thorne once saw him as the "epitome of evil" – however, he came to see that “he is as loving as he is hateful," as he explained to the BBC. And a show that puts the spotlight on how male violence starts – and how it affects young men – couldn't be more timely.
"The world's still full of those confused little boys creating chaos in the world in the guise of men and hopefully this is a little microcosm of that which helps us understand that," said Thorne.
Hungry for more treachery?
When is Lord of the Flies released?
Lord of the Flies lands in one big bingeable bundle on BBC iPlayer on 8 February at 6 am – so that's your lazy Sunday sorted!
However, if you are a fan of appointment viewing, you can also tune into BBC One every Sunday at 9pm, starting on 8 February, to watch the show weekly.
It all comes down to this.
Who’s in the cast of the BBC drama?
Winston Sawyers comes off the back of his first role in Paramout+'s The Crow Girl to step into the shoes of protagonist Ralph. As Sawyers explained to the BBC, he sees Winston as being symbolic of justice. “Ralph almost sacrifices himself in the name of justice because he knows what's right,” he said. “He sees what happens when he doesn't intervene, they go to the other camp and join Jack for a little while, then he sees bad things happen. He's very consistent in who he is and what he believes in.”
Lox Pratt stars as Jack, who branches off from the group to create a new faction. He is ruled by chaos and commits some of the most heinous acts in the story. This adaptation attempts to explore why Jack does what he does. “He's very narcissistic, arrogant, and condescending, and he knows that he's the best at everything,” said Pratt. “Deep down, he's quite a scared little guy. He lashes out quite easily. Those are all things that are quite hard, but also quite fun to play.”
Pratt is also set to star in the upcoming Harry Potter remake as Draco Malfoy.
David McKenna plays Piggy, Ralph's loyal friend. This is McKenna's first role.
The rest of the cast includes:
- Ike Talbut as Simon
- Thomas Connor as Roger
- Noah Flemyng as Sam
- Cassius Flemyng as Eric
- Cornelius Brandreth as Maurice
- Tom Page-Turner as Bill
- Rafael de Belligny as Robert
- Lake Coleman as Boy with Birthmark
- Freddie Lee-Grey as Percival
- Beau Thompson as Philip
- Fred Jones as Johnny
What is Lord of the Flies about?
William Golding's Lord of the Flies opens with a group of schoolboys who find themselves stuck on a deserted tropical island following a plane crash. Soon, the boys decide to elect a leader as they plan ways to survive and escape. Ralph is elected as leader and he names Jack as the leader of the group of hunters who are tasked with finding food for the group.
Jack splits off from the group, leading a new group called the “hunters.” He becomes more and more wild, eventually hunting some of the boys from the other group. Ultimately, both Piggy and Simon are killed amidst the increasing chaos on the island.
Streaming bosses know we don't stop scrolling when we watch TV, and it's led to a “dumbing down” of content. Look closer at Stranger Things and Harlan Coben's Run Away.
