Timberlake Wertenbaker’s 'Our Country’s Good'.
Australia
Australia 1789. A young Lieutenant is directing rehearsals of the first play ever to be staged in that country- with only two copies of the text, a cast of convicts and one leading lady who may be about to be hanged….. Winner of the Laurence Olivier Play of the Year Award, 'Our Country's Good' premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1988 and opened in Broadway in 1991.
To see pictures from the production, click the link in the right-hand column...
Meet The Cast ….
Cast in chains?
Captain Arthur Phillp, RN (Governor-in Chief, New South Wales)... James Saxon
Major Robbie Ross, RM... Kieran Scott
Captain David Collins, RM (Advocate General)... Ross Huddleston
Captain Watkin Tench, RM... Rowan Morris
Captain Jemmy Campbell, RM... Tom Davidson
Reverend Johnson... Rachel Telfer
Lieutenant George Johnston, RM... Sophie Whitehead
Lieutenant Will Dawes, RM... Catherine Buls
Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark, RM... Alex Pearson
Second Lieutenant William Faddy, RM... Bryony Moss
Midshipman Harry Brewer, RN (Provost Marshal)... Roan Forrester
An Aboriginal Australian... Ali Straker
John Arscott... Tom Davidson
Caesar... Ali Straker
Ketch Freeman... Dominic Kirkbride
Robert Sideway... Ross Huddleston
John Wisehammer... Alex Pardey
Mary Brenham... Rachel Telfer
Dabby Bryant... Amy McWilliams
Meet the Crew...
Head of Backstage... Kirsten Sutherland
Assistant to the Head of Backstage... Charlotte Griffith, Emma Sheppard
Backstage Crew... Nancy Grisdale, Elinor McCue, Belinda Simpson, Holly York
Head of Lighting & Sound... James Brown
Lighting Crew... Danielle Troy, Nick Biggers
Sound... John Arkle
Costumes... Janet Kidd, Bryony Moss, Rachael Fraser, Ciaran McGuire
Hair... Claire and Steven of John Gerrards-Morpeth
Make-up... Emma Gillespie, Emmy Smith
Photography and Poster... Danielle Hawkins
Programme Design... Amie Read, Chelsea Clark
Director... Martin Allenby
Assistant Director... Lucy Jackson
Martin Allenby's programme notes...
Good evening and welcome to this evening’s performance of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s ‘Our Country’s Good’. This is our tenth consecutive production at The Alnwick Playhouse and in recognition of this achievement we have returned to the first production that we ever put on.
I first came across ‘Our Country’s Good’ when I was an A-Level English Literature student in 1994. It has remained one of my favourite plays and I think Wertenbaker’s themes are powerful, thought provoking concepts as relevant today as they were twenty years ago when it first hit the stage. The fact that the play is a dramatisation of the lives of real people also intrigues me and for anyone interested in this particular part of history I would recommend Thomas Keneally’s ‘The Playmaker’ or Robert Hughes’s ‘The Fatal Shore’.
It is always immensely fulfilling to reach ‘play week’. This play has been in rehearsal since our return to school on the 8th of September and has involved a great deal of commitment from the young people whom you see performing before you this evening. As always, I am firm in my belief that this community has a great deal to be proud of with such talented youngsters amongst us.
There are a lot of people to thank for their efforts over the past eight weeks- Janet Kidd and her costume team for their focus and dedication, Lucy Jackson the assistant director who has regularly run rehearsals in my absence, the parents of all those involved who have put up with the Sunday rehearsals and the late nights, all those who have attended our shows and the cast themselves and all the other students who you will not see tonight but ensure the smooth running of the show. I think it is also important to extend a thank you to all students and staff from the past, all those who have been involved in the productions since they began back in 2000 and helped the school establish a strong drama reputation.
I hope that you enjoy this evening’s performance and that you continue to support school drama. Thank you!
Martin Allenby
