Our Country's Good

Our Country's Good

Dramatic Publishing Co. edition, 1989
Written by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Date premiered 1988
Place premiered Royal Court Theatre
London, UK
Original language English
Subject Based on a true story of convicts rehearsing a play
Genre Drama
Setting 18th century, Sydney, Australia

Our Country's Good is a 1988 play written by British playwright, Timberlake Wertenbaker, adapted from the Thomas Keneally novel The Playmaker. The story concerns a group of Royal Marines and convicts in a penal colony in New South Wales, in the 1780s, who put on a production of The Recruiting Officer.

It was first staged at the Royal Court Theatre, London, on 10 September 1988, directed by Max Stafford-Clark. It ran on Broadway in 1991.

Background

In the 1780s, convicts and Royal Marines were sent to Australia as part of the first penal colony there. The play shows the class system in the convict camp and discusses themes such as sexuality, punishment, the Georgian judicial system, and the idea that it is possible for ‘theatre to be a humanising force'.

As part of their research, Stafford-Clark and Wertenbaker went to see a play performed by convicts at Wormwood Scrubs, which proved very inspiring: "in prison conditions, theatre can be hugely heartening and influential and indeed in prison your options are so limited you can become a born-again Christian, a gym-queen constantly working out, a bird watcher or you become passionate about theatre." The convicts were, at least momentarily, civilized human beings, and they had taken their work very seriously: The convicts knew their lines absolutely because they had nothing else to do and they didn't want to waste time with pleasantries; as soon as you came into the room they started rehearsing. The two hours were very intense because the time was so valuable and we saw immediately how doing a play could become absolutely absorbing if you were incarcerated.

Most of the characters in the play are based on real people who sailed with the First Fleet, though some have had their names changed. Wertenbaker was able to read the journals of First Fleet members in order to portray them accurately.

Synopsis

In the hold of the convict ship Sirius, the convicts witness an (off-stage) flogging and express fear about their future. In Sydney Cove, an unnamed Aboriginal Australian witnesses the arrival of the first fleet. Throughout the play, he comments on the British settlement's effect on the indigenous populations, reacting with curiosity, confusion, and finally fear.

Some time after arriving in Sydney, Governor Arthur Philip, Captain David Collins, Captain Watkin Tench, and Midshipman Harry Brewer debate the purpose of prison: should it be to punish or rehabilite?; and the nature of criminal tendencies: are they innate or acquired? When Tench mentions that the convicts consider hanging to be "entertainment," Philip wonders if they could be offered something else. He suggests that the convicts could stage a play, but nevertheless orders Harry to find a hangman and execute three men who have been convicted of stealing food.

After hanging two of the thieves, Harry is plagued by guilt, especially as one of the thieves, Handy Baker, was Harry's rival for the affection of Duckling Smith, a young convict woman. Harry tells Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark about the Governor's idea to have the convicts stage a play and Ralph decides to take this project on, hoping to get the Governor to notice him.

Ralph chooses George Farquhar's restoration comedy The Recruiting Officer and holds auditions. Some of the convicts who audition are Meg Long, an aged prostitute; Robert Sideway, a flamboyant pickpocket; the shy Mary Brenham; her more outspoken friend Dabby Bryant; and the hardened criminal Liz Morden. Ralph offers Mary the main female role of Silvia and reluctantly agrees that Dabby can play Rose. Liz Morden is offered the role of Melinda.

One evening, the officers discuss theatre, punishment, criminality and morality, and debate the value of Ralph's project. Major Ross, his acolyte Captain Campbell, and the pragmatic Captain Tench express conservative opinions and oppose the play, which is defended vehemently by Philip, Collins and Ralph Clark. Collins conducts a vote and with the majority in favour, Ralph is allowed to start rehearsals.

Duckling complains that Harry is always watching her, leaving her no freedom. To appease her, he says that he will let her take part in the play. Dabby and Mary start learning their lines. Mary feels inadequate to play a noble lady, as she is ashamed of having sold herself to a sailor on the ship for food. Dabby argues that Mary was no virgin and that she might otherwise not have survived the voyage. Liz interrupts them and demands to be included, but Dabby becomes resentful when it becomes clear that Liz can't read. Their fight is broken up by James “Ketch” Freeman, the hangman. Freeman visits Ralph in his tent, claims that he is innocent of the murder that got him transported to Australia. He explains why he agreed to take on the office of hangman; having been convicted for stealing food, he was told “hang or be hanged”. He finally begs Ralph for a part in the play. A Jewish convict, John Wisehammer, engages Mary in a conversation about the meanings and sounds of words; she suggests he also take part in the play.

At the first rehearsal, two actors, Cable and Arscott, are missing; Sideway overacts, and Liz can't act at all. A convict named Black Caesar arrives and asks to play a servant. The rehearsal is interrupted by Ross and Campbell, who inform Ralph that Cable and Arscott have escaped. Ross arrests Caesar, who initially went with the escapees but came back. He also arrests Wisehammer, because Cable was last seen near Wisehammer’s hut; and Liz, accused of helping Cable steal food from the stores. The rehearsal is left in shambles.

In prison, Liz tells Wisehammer her life story. Wisehammer protests that he is innocent. Caesar dreams of making another escape attempt and returning to Madagascar. John Arscott, who has been recaptured, desperately cries out that escape is impossible. Sideway, Duckling and Mary arrive in prison so they can continue to rehearse.

Ralph tells Philip that, because half of his actors are in prison, he wants to stop the play, but Philip exhorts him to continue trying, making Ralph see the much larger meaning that the play has for the colony. Philip especially advocates for Liz Morden, as he wants to make an example of her – through redemption.

In his tent, Harry Brewer sees the ghosts of the two men he hanged, including his rival Handy Baker. He shouts for Duckling, but when she arrives, he cannot trust her, saying that the "ghost" told him that Handy and Duckling had been on the beach together.

On Philip’s orders, Ross brings Wisehammer, Caesar, and Liz to the second rehearsal. Nobody feels comfortable rehearsing in Ross's presence and Ralph tries to get him to leave. This just infuriates Ross. He starts humiliating the convicts, forcing Sideway to show his flogging scars, Dabby to imitate a dog and Mary to show the tattoo high up on her inner thigh. As the rehearsal continues, Sideway and Liz begin to enter more fully into their parts, boldly using the full length of the room and interacting with the others. The words of the play take a double meaning highly significant to the situation. In response, Ross orders Campbell to flog Arscott as punishment for his escape; the sounds of the flogging and Arscott's cries end the rehearsal.

Liz has been sentenced to death for stealing food. Freeman reluctantly measures her for hanging. Harry, who oversees the process, still hears the ghosts of the dead. It becomes clear that Liz did not defend herself at her trial, but just as 'Ketch' and Harry are about to leave, she asks Harry to tell Ralph that she did not steal the food. As they question her as to why she didn't speak up, Harry collapses.

As Cable is not back, Ralph has taken over his part in The Recruiting Officer. It is clear by now that Wisehammer and Ralph are rivals for Mary’s affection, just as they are for Silvia’s in the Farquhar play. Dabby complains that she can't relate to her character, but Wisehammer argues that a play should teach you something new. Arscott remarks that the play allows him to forget about own situation, contrasting with Dabby, who wants to play herself. The arrival of Ketch Freeman ends the rehearsal, as the others refuse to act with a hangman.

In Harry Brewer’s tent, Duckling promises love and fidelity to Harry, only to discover that he has just died. She collapses.

Mary is rehearsing on her own. Ralph joins her. Reciting their lines in the play, they end up confessing their love.

Philip, Ross, Collins, Campbell and Ralph discuss Liz Morden one more time. Philip is afraid of a miscarriage of justice, as the evidence against her is flimsy. Liz is given a last chance to defend herself. She finally speaks, saying that she knew Cable wanted to steal the food, but she wasn’t present when he did. Collins orders a retrial. Despite her situation, Liz surprises everyone present by politely promising to perform her role in the play.

Backstage before the performance, the actors attempt to console Duckling. They also discuss the future: Dabby plans to escape that night; Sideway wants to start a theatre company; Liz and Freeman want to join Sideway's company as actors and Wisehammer as playwright; Mary and Ralph plan their lives together. Caesar is very drunk and suffering from stage fright; only ludicrous threats from his fellow actors convince him to go on stage. Wisehammer reminds Ralph of the prologue he wrote for the play and reads it. Although pleased, Ralph does not dare to use it, because it is too political. The play begins: Arscott and Caesar go onstage while as the rest of the cast listens in trepidation. The first speech of the play is met with tremendous applause.

Characters

Use of doubling

The play has been written with the idea of doubling in mind, needing only ten actors for twenty-two roles. It is typically performed with performers changing costumes on stage; a wig and military uniform jacket marking the only differences between an officer and a convict. Ralph Clark is the only character that has to be played by an actor without a second role; every other actor plays at least one convict and one officer, with three actors even taking three roles. The following table shows the list of characters with all roles typically (as done by the original production and imitated by most later productions) taken by one actor in the same horizontal line

Overview of Characters

Educational use

In England, the play is used by the exam board AQA and Edexcel as a set text for Advanced Level Theatre Studies and as a set text to use in comparison essays for GCE. It has also been used in universities' performing arts and English departments. It has been performed across Europe as part of GCE candidates' final performances. It is also used at AS level in English Literature studies, as well as a set text in the OIB administered by CIE and is also commonly used in English speaking English Literature classes for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

Productions

The play's first production was at the Royal Court Theatre, London, on 10 September 1988, directed by Max Stafford-Clark. The production starred David Haig as Ralph Clark, Jim Broadbent as Harry Brewer, John Arscott and Captain Campbell, Linda Bassett as Lieutenant Will Dawes and Liz Morden, and Ron Cook as Captain Arthur Phillip and John Wisehammer.[1]

Our Country's Good premiered on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre on April 29, 1991 and closed on June 8, 1991 after 12 previews and 48 performances. Directed by Mark Lamos, the cast featured Cherry Jones (Liz Morden and Reverend Johnson), Peter Frechette (2nd Lieutenant Ralph Clark), Tracey Ellis (Mary Brennan and Lieutenant George Johnston), Amelia Campbell (Lieutenant Will Dawes, Duckling Smith and Meg Long) and J. Smith-Cameron (Dabby Bryant and 2nd Lieutenant William Faddy).

The play was performed at the Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum Theatre, directed by Caroline Hall and featuring Louise Gold as Lieutenant Will Dawes and Liz Morden.[1] It was also presented at the Liverpool Playhouse in 2007. Among the cast members was Charlie Brooks. The actors also provided a workshop for real life convicts in Walton Prison.

In 2012 Max Stafford-Clark, the play's original director, directed a new production for Out of Joint and the Octagon Theatre, Bolton which played at the St. James Theatre.

In 2015, Voice Theatre staged a production of the play at the Byrdcliffe Theater in Woodstock, New York. Shauna Kanter directed, and Jon Lee starred.

Awards and nominations

1988 Laurence Olivier Award
1991 Tony Award
1991 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award
Drama Desk Award
2012 Manchester Theatre Award

References

  1. 1 2 Shane, Emma. Our Country's Good at the Louise Gold website, accessed 20 January 2011
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