The Lord of the Flies set depicting a tropical island is taking shape. One of the set builders, Alex McCubbin, let slip that he was once in a production of the play at Henley College that used a real pig's head. There is a scene that calls for a pig's head to be carried around on a stick and they manged to get a local butcher to supply a new one every night. The actor who had to put the pig's head on the stick was a vegetarian and really didn't enjoy the experience.
Liz Carrol is responsible for props in Progress's production and she decided against the butchers option. At one point she did consider using a pig's head to get the skull and did some research on the internet. She gave up on the idea after discovering that it takes weeks and involves insects to get the last of the brains out!
What she did in the end she describes as an interesting process involving a mask and expanding foam. She mysteriously added that during the creation there was a mistake which was eventually turned into gristle and bone. As you can see from this photo it looks gruesomely realistic - I should have started this blog with one of those "some views may find this upsetting" warnings.
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Coming up -
You can still auditions for Reading Open Air 2012 Henry IV Part 1 on Wednesday 14th March 7.30pm or Sunday 18th March 12pm at Progress Theatre
Auditions for Mine by Polly Teale, Sunday 11th March 2.30 or Tuesday 13th March 7.30pm at Progress Theatre
Progress Youth Theatre Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Monday 19th March to Saturday 24th March 2012, Progress Theatre
Classic Writing - Double Bill, Gaggle of Saints, by Neil LaBute and Handbagged, by Moira Buffini, 10 Apr - 14 Apr 2012, Progress Theatre
See Progress Theatre website for details of all our productions and auditions.
