Australia 1789. A young married 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, conditions are hardly ideal...Winner of the Laurence Olivier Play of the Year Award in 1988, and many other major awards, Our Country's Good premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1988 and opened on Broadway in 1991. 'Rarely has the redemptive, transcendental power of theatre been argued with such eloquence and passion.' Georgina Brown, Independent Methuen Student Editions are expertly annotated texts of a wide range of plays from the modern and classic repertoires. As well as the complete text of the play itself, the volume contains a chronology of the playwright's life and work; an introduction giving the background to the play; a discussion of the various interpretations; and notes on individual words and phrases in the text.
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Editorial Reviews
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"Wertenbaker has searched history and found in it a humanistic lesson for hard modern times: rough, sombre, undogmatic and warm" The Sunday Times "Highly theatrical, often funny and at times dark and disturbing, it sets an infant civilization on the stage with clarity, economy and insight" The Daily Telegraph, Charles Spencer --The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph
About the Author
Timberlake Wertenbaker was born in France and was Resident Writer for 'Shared Experience' in 1983 and the Royal Court Theatre 1984-85. She is best known for her play Our Country's Good (1988), based on the novel The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally. First performed at the Royal Court in 1988, it was awarded the Laurence Olivier/BBC Award for Best New Play, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best New Foreign Play and was nominated for six 'Tonies'.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A marvelous comedy-drama,
By A Customer
This review is from: Our Country's Good (Methuen Modern Plays) (Paperback)
One of the more touching ensemble plays I've ever encountered (and acted in). Every character has a moment of introspection, and the interactions between the characters sweep warmly from political debate to screwball interpretations of "theatre" to romance---both budding and struggling to survive. This play also has the virtue of being highly readable offstage. I give it my highest recommendations.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing piece of drama,
By
This review is from: Our Country's Good (Paperback)
As an A level theatre studies student, "Our Country's Good" is, for me, an extraordinary simulacrum of our current trauma, and the ways in which art can both enlighten the best in us and help us to transcend the intolerable worst.
The last reviewer, who stated the play as `stupid', obviously has no imagination and knows little about the underlying themes and context within each character and the play as a whole. Rich, funny, haunting, and deeply moving, Wertenbaker has searched history and found a humanistic parable for our harsh modern era: theatre is what makes us human in the face of absolute cruelty. "Our Country's Good" is definitely a must-read and see for anyone who believes in the ability of the theatre to move and change lives.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"We left our country for our country's good...",
This review is from: Our Country's Good (Paperback)
How do you begin? One of the most interesting plays of at least the last 15 years, Timberlake Wertenbaker opens up for any audience a stunning tempest of plots, sub-plots and characters, from Harry Brewer to Meg Long. Each character is different and each has their own story to tell, each in their own way. I was first introduced to this book through my school studies as a lot of people are, but the following two years were intensely enjoyable, what higher praise if there is a play that can make A-Levels more bearable? I don't think I could say anything more profound than that as anyone else who has read it will agree. It is also the ideal play for a school production, a cast from between 11 - 23 people and as many males or females as you want. Perfect.
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