“We do all end up in loincloths,” says Alexander Plouffe, who is playing Bill in the Lower Ossington Theatre production of Lord of the Flies. “But that’s solely because after a month on an island you don’t want to be in your school uniform.”

This production is a bit of a departure for LOT — known more for its musicals — and Plouffe is looking forward to getting dramatic. “I loved the book growing up. The writing and the portrayal of the young men — they’re not just kids; there are very deep roots of tribalism. And even though it ends up in chaos, it’s a very liberating piece to do."

"I play one of the choirboys, one of the minions. He believes it is all a game, then it quickly becomes clear that it is not. We’re playing a lot with the psychological part of being stranded on an island with a bunch of boys.” But in some contexts that might be a Fab reader’s fantasy. “Well . . . there are some interesting points in the text.” Homoerotic? “That is probably a good word to use,” he concedes. “We’re not focusing on it, what might happen on an island solely populated by boys, but they are young men going through puberty, and those hormones are out of control.”

Lord of the Flies runs Thurs, Nov 22–Sun, Dec 9 at the LOT Studio Theatre, 100A Ossington Ave. lowerossingtontheatre.com