2005 Production: Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Staged by Playing for Time Theatre Company and The University of Winchester

Summary of the play and the history behind it

It is a modern play. I’m trying to write about how people are treated, what it means to be brutalised, what it means to live without hope, and how theatre can be a humanising force”

(Wertenbaker in the New York Times, September 1990)

The story is set in Australia in 1788/9. Between 1787 and 1868, Britain sent 160,000 convicts to Australia and most never returned.

Our Country's Good is adapted from Thomas Kendally's novel, The Playmaker. The play and the novel both take the source material from Robert Hughes' epic history entitle The Fatal Shore, which documents the history of Britain's transportation of convicts to Australia between 1787 and 1868. The characters in the play, most of whom were real- life figures mentioned in Hughes' history, are  representative of the First Fleet’ which arrived in Botany Bay after eight months at sea, in January 1788. The first fleet carried amongst others, 548 male and 188 female convicts under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip in his flag ship Sirius. The convicts were quite young (average age was 27) and mostly guilty of petty theft. At that time, you could be hanged in England for stealing anything worth more than two pounds. These convicts were completely ill- equipped to start a colony in a new land.

Transportation of convicts to Australia was the answer to an extreme problem. The English prisons were full. The overflow of the people from prisons, especially in London, were incarcerated in 'hulks' old troop transport boats resting in the Thames and Southern Naval ports of England. By 1780, this prison population was increasing by 1000 per year and fear of the disease typhus was very real. Transportation allowed England to,effectively, dump its  criminal class’ on the other side of the world, there to be forgotten. There was the added advantage that the returning ships could carry raw material that could equip the Navy (for example, flax for ship sails, and pine for ships masts- these items were the eighteenth century equivalent of oil in terms of their value)

Conditions for the prisoners were not good and they were largely at the mercy of the Captains and Officers who guarded them. Punishments were harsh. Our Country's Good is about a young Lieutenant who decides to stage the first ever production of a play (George Farquar's restoration comedy, The Recruiting Officer ) in Australia. With only two copies of the play text, a cast of convicts, and one leading lady who may be about to be hanged, the chances of the play being a success are not looking promising. However, despite some of the harsh events which happen in the course of the story, something occurs as the rehearsals develop. The officers begin to see the prisoners differently, the prisoners begin to see themselves differently, and amidst the most difficult of circumstances, an extraordinary transformation occurs.

The Recruiting Officer, according to Hughes, was actually staged- performed by convicts- in honour of the King’s birthday in 1787, though not directed by Ralph Clark. Another of a host of remarkable facts, is that Dabby Bryant really did escape back to England, after an initial 3000 mile journey from Sydney to Timor, with a small group of fellow convicts.

Roy: It's been a great experience working with the students and putting this play together. I hope the prison service will allow a few more projects like this one.

Arun: Personally this has helped my confidence of performing to large groups which I hope I can use in other aspects of my life. I hope you all enjoy the performance and at this opportunity I'd like to thank the staff and students for their time and patience, they have been a joy to work with.

Donna: Getting involved with the prison theatre project at West Hill has undoubtedly been the best experience I've had at University so far.

Gavin: From my own experience, projects like this are a great incentive to prisoners to use their time wisely and productively. I am grateful to all those who made this experience possible.

Nick: It's not just about doing a play, it's about building confidence, self esteem and teamwork skills. I feel it's these skills that can help you stop re-offending.

Rebecca: Drama moves people in ways that other forms of media cannot, this is why drama in the community and in education is so beneficial and is why I was so delighted to be involved in this project.

Kerryn: During my time working in prisons I soon became aware of how many highly talented people are hidden behind locked doors. Drama is one way in which some of these talents can be exposed, expressed and developed