Almost three years later, a 30-strong ensemble of young boys, many making their professional acting debuts thanks to open casting calls, is transporting us to their unruly island in a four-part BBC series, with episodes airing on Sundays and the entire series available on BBC iPlayer.
But where was Lord of the Flies filmed? Are the destinations behind the filming locations real-life paradises or a land as wild as we see on-screen?
While William Golding’s novel placed the boys on an unnamed Pacific island in the early 1950s, location managers settled on the northwestern Malaysian archipelago of Langkawi for filming.
Marc Munden, Lord of the Flies’ director and executive producer, said, “We filmed in Malaysia, which has the most incredible, dense rainforest and great uninhabited islands, but that made things challenging with its impenetrability and remoteness. Also, the weather – extreme humidity and heat. Everyone was soaking wet every day, either through sea water, torrential rain or sweat.”
While Marc recounts the difficulties of filming in such a tropical location, the young actors recall filming on Langkawi fondly – “I loved Malaysia. I loved my beach – I guess Ralph’s beach – in Langkawi. It’s so nice because it was such an open space”, said Winston Sawyers, who plays Ralph.
Speaking to Time Out ahead of the series’ release, executive producer Joel Wilson said that aside from the jungle and beach shots, scenes of the boys departing England were filmed at Duxfield Airfield, part of the Imperial War Museum, and Simon’s time as a choirboy was filmed at St Albans Cathedral.
