Our Country’s Good‘ by Timberlake Wertenbaker is set in the eighteenth century and is concerned with a collection of characters united by one feature – their desire to put on a play. Set on a convict ship, bound for Australia, officers, pick-pockets, murderers and hangmen feature in this play. The script has been edited to allow for a smaller cast of eight actors who took on multiple roles – a decision which was largely successful.
The production, directed by Charlotte Mulliner and Chloe Courtney, handled the aspects of meta-theatre particularly skillfully. The absence of flats was an acknowledgement of the play present in the script, as visible costume changes helped enforce the differentiation between the actors’ multiple characters. This is a play which depicts the performance of another play and so the production’s exposure of its own theatricality was especially powerful.
The direction provided moments of very powerful imagery, especially in the first scene when the audience is greeted by the sound of a ship at sea and the quivering body of a flogged man. This violence was used again to great effect in one of the ‘rehearsal’ scenes with the sound of the whip adding to an already tense scene. Simple lighting provided a clear change of place between the gloom of the prison and the glare of daytime Australia and also created a stark and powerful atmosphere in the opening scene.
The acting was also of a very high standard. Character changes were generally handled with ease but could have, on occasion, been a little more defined. In one unfortunate case the multitude of roles led to over-characterisation and undue emphasis on external mannerisms. But, again, the success of the production as a whole meant that we can probably forgive them. The most notable performances were those of the actors involved in the ‘rehearsal’ scenes; it takes a good actor to act acting, but, it seems, an even better one to act acting badly. Rachel Bull was particularly good as the darkly troubled Liz Morden and portrayed this complex character with skill and understanding. Alex Jeffery and Ashleigh Wheeler depicted the relationship between Midshipman Harry Brewer and Duckling Smith with sensitivity and depth. The developing intimacy between Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark and Mary Brenham, played by Rhys Bevan and Anna Maguire respectively, was treated with equal skill.
Overall, this is a production worth watching, prompting laughter as well as serious thought. The convicts’ comedy of manners is contained within a play which is substantially darker, questioning justice, perceived inferiority and the destruction caused by enforced inequality. This production captures the moods of both ‘plays’ effectively and is, as a result, an engaging and entertaining piece of theatre.
Four Stars
