YORKSHIRE-BASED Pilot Theatre company's energetic

production of Lord of the Flies leaves no stone unturned in its quest to uncover the rotten core at the heart of humanity.

The play, a pared down version of William Golding's novel,

manages to retain much of the darkness of the original book while breathing fresh life into

several of the main characters.

The set is stark but stunning with only the jagged and empty shell of the crashed plane in view.

Yet each of the eight actors playing the terrified schoolboys manages to convey a perfect sense of the idyllic island they are stranded on and the night-time fear of the terrible 'beast'.

This is an all-action production with the schoolboys tearing around the stage, dancing

feverishly and achieving a sense of utter chaos.

It is only poor Piggy, played almost too painfully by Neville Hutton, who is a stationary bundle of nerves, twitching and terrified.

Philip Dinsdale is superbly hateful as Jack, the power-crazed schoolboy who retreats into the mountains with his own mini-army.

By the end of the play, smeared in blood and wild-eyed, he is a truly terrifying figure.

But it is Neville Robinson, as Simon, who really shines.

He perfectly evokes the

gentleness of the character bringing to it an enchanting mix of child-like innocence and knowing wisdom.

This is a brutal, draining

version of Golding's masterpiece but all the better for that.

Sam Strangeways.