Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Based on the novel The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally
“Spewed from our country, forgotten, bound to the dark edge of the earth…”
A ship, sailing 15,000 miles to Australia, is crammed with Britain’s convicts – a punishment for their crimes. After a life-threatening voyage they finally arrive in 1788. But keeping the colony disciplined is a brutal job, and cruelty is rife. To keep the convicts in line and attempt to ‘civilise’ this often desperate, violent, poverty stricken group, a young ambitious lieutenant, Ralph Clark, decides they should perform a play.
With a mostly illiterate cast, rising mistrust amongst the ranks, and the leading actor facing the gallows, this is a one-of-a-kind theatre production…
Based on the extraordinary true story of the British Empire’s most remote penal colony, and with deportation as punishment more relevant than ever before, the play takes on new meaning in 2024. Our Country’s Good is a thought-provoking and powerful tale of hope, humanity, justice, and the redemptive power of art.
Note: This production is unsuitable for under 14s. It features very strong language and themes of cruelty and exploitation.
This amateur production by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd on behalf of Samuel French Ltd
https://www.concordtheatricals.co.uk/
