Baalzebub

by Rachel Atkins

What would a group of girls do if they were abandoned alone and away from adults and civilization? Baalzebub is a response to the classic novel, Lord of the Flies, in which a group of post –World War II schoolboys are stranded on a desert island. In Baalzebub, a group of girls are stranded together on another kind of deserted island, left behind at a refugee camp in an unnamed war zone, including some who have...

What would a group of girls do if they were abandoned alone and away from adults and civilization? Baalzebub is a response to the classic novel, Lord of the Flies, in which a group of post –World War II schoolboys are stranded on a desert island. In Baalzebub, a group of girls are stranded together on another kind of deserted island, left behind at a refugee camp in an unnamed war zone, including some who have been raised and living as boys. As time passes without rescue, the girls face the adult challenges of creating and maintaining a working society. How are the ways they cope and behave the same as the boys in Lord of the Flies? How are they different? Baalzebub both mirrors the plot of Lord of the Flies, and follows its own story, reflecting a different, modern group of female characters struggling under their own unique circumstances to cooperate, understand their differences, define themselves, and survive.

Ideal for university, high school and youth productions. A competition-length one-act version of this script is also available: https://newplayexchange.org/plays/208013/baalzebub-competition-one-act.

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Baalzebub

11+ actors
Please consider inclusive, gender-expansive and racially conscious choices in casting.

Rayyan (Ray), the leader
Princess, the brains/conscience
Blessing, the good girl
Raja, the mean girl
Juno, the leader of the boyah gang
Diamond, a boyah
Ali, a boyah
Sam, Isis’s twin, a follower
Isis, Sam’s twin, a follower
Baby, a young‘un
Sister, a young‘un (may be played by 1 or more actors using a language other than spoken English. See Notes.)
Man, a wounded adult male soldier (may be played by a male actor, or by other actors in the cast. See Notes.)

Options for Sister:
• If there are multiple actors cast as Sister and speaking different languages, each language should be spoken separately, in any order. English does not need to be spoken first.
• If using sign language, signing may happen simultaneously with spoken lines, or it may be separate.
• You may cast only one actor and replace all or some of the English lines with another language, playing the character as bilingual.
• Line translations should be as direct as possible.
• Other characters should interact with Sister as if they understand everything she says, even when speaking another language.

Options for the Man:
1. Played by a male actor, seen onstage.
2. Played by a male actor not seen onstage. His voice may be live or recorded.
3. Played by the existing cast, except Blessing. Dialogue should be divided among all or most other actors, sentence by sentence (not line by line). These actors should be seen by the audience whenever speaking as the Man.

Development History

  • Commission, Seattle Public Theater, 2015

Production History

  • High School, Paloma Valley High School, California, 2019
  • High School, Western Guilford High School, North Carolina, 2019
  • High School, Western Hills High School, Texas, 2019
  • High School, Associacao Escola Graduada de Sao Paulo (The American School of Sao Paulo), Brazil, 2018
  • High School, Franklin Academy High School, North Carolina, 2018
  • High School, McCluer South Berkeley High School, Missouri, 2018
  • High School, West Harrison High School, Mississippi, 2018
  • Professional, Seattle Public Theater youth program, 2016