Dead pig stunt angers animal rights campaigners

ANIMAL rights activists yesterday clashed with thespians in Waterford city after a local theatre company placed dead pigs on stakes around the city to promote their upcoming production of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.

Theatre company Red Kettle decided to use the pigs’ heads as they play a hugely symbolic role in Golding’s classic.

The visual recreation of the plot angered many locals and the city council took to the streets early in the morning to remove many of the heads after receiving a large number of complaints.

“It’s sick publicity at the expense of an animal, it doesn’t matter that the pigs were dead, it was sick and we condemn the people behind it,” said John Tierney of Waterford Animal Concern.

“Whatever the intent behind this it does not justify displaying animal heads as a form of sick visual entertainment,” he added.

Around 20 pigs’ heads were on display in different parts of the city. Mary Breen, administration manager with Waterford City Council said they were taking the matter “very seriously” amid concerns for public health.

“Once we established who was behind it they admitted responsibility and undertook to dispose of them under the supervision of our veterinary officer,” she said.

However, Slipstream Public Relations, who organised the publicity campaign, said the pigs’ heads had caught the public imagination and were not a tasteless stunt.

“In the times we live in, theatre has a big job to compete with other visual media and we wanted to do something people would react to and remember,” Noeleen Dooley said.

“I think it’s caught peoples’ eyes and created quite a stir in Waterford, where reaction has been from shock to amusement,” she added.

Red Kettle is marking the 50th anniversary of the publication of Golding’s novel by staging a production based on an adaptation by playwright Nigel Williams. With a cast of 16 actors and directed by Ben Hennessey the production runs from November 12-20 at The Forum theatre in Waterford.

The pig’s head brought to life the savagery, anarchy and destruction depicted in the world-famous 1954 novel when some of the children killed a pig and smeared their faces with its blood.

The book follows the exploits of a large group of young children stranded on an island without adult supervision. The children split into two groups and end up turning on each other, with violent consequences.