Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Director's notes:
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"Transportation of convicts, to America until 1776 and then to Australia, served two clear purposes. First, it helped populate the new colonies, providing a convenient and cheap source of labour. Second, it provided a means of emptying overcrowded prisons without the use of the death penalty.
This is the scene for Our Country's Good. In a penal colony in 1789, a young lieutenant directs rehearsals of the Restoration comedy “The Recruiting Officer”. But with a cast of dispirited convicts, opposition from sadistic officers, and a leading lady who faces being hanged, Australia’s first theatrical production is in trouble from the start." Sue Cash, Director |
"The Greeks believed that it was a citizen's duty to watch a play. It was a kind of work in that it required attention, judgement, patience - all social virtues"
Captain Phillip |
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