Theatre Review - Our Country’s Good
The cast of Our Country’s Good [Marc Brenner]
RACHEL O’Riordan’s revival of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s 1988 classic is timely. Inspired by Thomas Keneally novel The Playmaker, and based on real people who sailed with the First Fleet, Our Country’s Good is set in a penal colony in 1780s Australia and explores colonisation, deportation, and the healing power of theatre.
The colony is governed by a raggle taggle group of Royal Marines. Many of the convicts have been detained for petty crimes, such as stealing food, and deported because of overcrowded prisons.
In an attempt to “civilise” the prisoners, the governor Captain Arthur Phillip (Harry Kershaw) suggests they perform a play. Wanting to impress his senior officer, lieutenant Ralph Clark (Simon Manyonda) assumes responsibility for the project and chooses George Farquhar’s restoration comedy The Recruiting Officer.
Collaborating with consultant Ian Michael, Wertenbaker revisited the text for the Lyric’s production and rewrote sections of the role previously called The Aborigine. Renamed Killara, and played by First Nations actor Naarah to honour their voice and history, she witnesses various atrocities, comments on the settlement’s excesses and watches in dismay as her people are ravaged by smallpox.
It’s beautifully performed by the 11-strong cast, most of whom double up to play both soldiers and convicts. Gary McCann’s evocative set gives a vivid sense of the Australian terrain while his mix of period and modern costumes remind us of the play’s contemporary resonances.
Until October 5