Cubbinton Players - Our Country's Good

The year is 1788, and several naval vessels leave Plymouth bound for Australia. On board are the first convicts sentenced to 'transportation', the British government's new punishment for those convicted of crimes ranging from stealing a loaf of bread to murder, in a bid to deal with overcrowded and unhealthy prisons. Acting as custodians are a mixture of Royal Marines and officers from the Royal Navy, headed by Captain Arthur Phillip, the new governor of Australia. Life on these ships is harsh and unforgiving. Convicts huddle together to shield themselves from the cold, or cower in fear as a fellow inmate is given three hundred lashes in front of them. This, the dramatic opening to Wertenbaker's Our Country's Good, premiered at the Royal Court (directed by Max Stafford Clark and starring Jim Broadbent and David Haig) in 1987.

Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark, a young officer desperate to attract the attention of his superior officers, resolves to direct the first play ever to be staged on the shores of this new land. Against stiff opposition from high-ranking officers like Major Robbie Ross, Ralph begins to cast the convicts to play characters in Farquhar's The Recruiting Officer. As an audience, we witness the rehearsal process and the many setbacks that befall Lieutenant Clark and his cast, set against the complex relationships that begin to develop between convicts and officers, equally set adrift on a lonely and distant island. It is a play of extreme drama, of wonderful comedy and of beautiful poignancy. We cannot fail to be touched by Ralph's devotion and courage in the face of stern opposition, nor can we fail to be shocked at the brutality of the bigoted Major Ross, whilst the likes of Robert Sideway and Dabby Bryant bring warmth and light to a brilliantly-written play. From the midst of grief and tension comes a very clear and necessary message; that through theatre and art even social untouchables can discover a sense of dignity, a sense of purpose and a sense of pride.