Our Country's Good: Based on the Novel the "Playmaker" by Thomas Kenneally (Student Editions)

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Act 1, Scene 1. The play starts off with all the convicts and officers on their journey to Australia via ship which would have taken many months. Here we are introduced to the brutal and laborious nature of what the convicts are facing on a day to day basis. Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark: Ralph is struggling as a lower officer. He desperately wants promotion, and when he hears through Harry Brewer that Arthur Phillip has suggested a play be put on by the convicts, he jumps to set about doing it. You see his transformation in the play as he turns from a man who is extremely nervous and uneasy around women, even ridiculed for not having a woman convict for himself on the voyage to Australia, to a man in love with the convict Mary Brenham. He is influenced, to changing his feelings towards the convicts, by Arthur Phillip, giving them respect in the end, apologising to Liz Morden for interrupting her line in a rehearsal. The real Ralph Clark later had a daughter with Mary Brenham, whom he named Betsey Alicia – for his wife in England. In the 1780s, convicts and Royal Marines were sent to Australia as part of the first penal colony there. The play shows the class system in the convict camp and discusses themes such as sexuality, punishment, the Georgian judicial system, and the idea that it is possible for "theatre to be a humanising force".

You can also still join BIPC events and webinars and access one-to-one support. See what's available at the British Library in St Pancras or online and in person via BIPCs in libraries across London. One night, Ralph finds Mary rehearsing alone on the beach. When he joins her and recites the lines of her character’s lover, they begin to feel a connection, and their fake embrace turns into something real. As they take off their clothes, Ralph admits he’s never seen a naked woman before—not even his wife. All of our upcoming public events and our St Pancras building tours are going ahead. Read our latest blog post about planned events for more information. Dabby Bryant: Mary's friend who constantly dreams of returning to Devon. Although she did sell Mary for food on the ship, she obviously cares for her. Although she seems to enjoy the play, she thinks the content and especially her character, Rose, are stupid and argues for a play that is more relevant towards their current situation. In the final scene, she reveals that she has plans for escaping that night. The real Mary Bryant would indeed become famous for a daring escape in 1791. Mary is rehearsing on her own. Ralph joins her. Reciting their lines in the play, they end up confessing their love.

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John Wisehammer: Transported to Australia for stealing snuff, he continues to claim his innocence. He is Jewish and struggles against slight (Liz) and strong (Ross) anti-semitism. His large knowledge is self-taught and he says of himself that he "like[s] words" (Act One, Scene Ten). He writes a new prologue to the play, which Ralph doesn't want to use on the first night, as he considers it too political. In the end, Wisehammer wants to stay in Australia, as "no one has more of a right than anyone else to call [him] a foreigner" (Act Two, Scene Eleven), and to become an author there. He and Mary Brenham exchange words, literally, in Act One, Scene Ten, where Wisehammer's slight intellectualism is explained. The real Wisehammer would get married and become a merchant after his release. Mary Brenham (Branham): A very shy girl, whose love for "A.H." turned her into a thief, she gets as good as dragged to the audition by Dabby Bryant, but is offered a part by Ralph after having heard her read only a few lines. She opens up gradually, but remains slightly naive in comparison to the people around her. She finally falls in love with Ralph and dreams of a future with him. Brenham and Clark would indeed have a daughter, but Clark would leave both of them behind upon returning to England. Scene 8. The women are learning their lines. Mary and Dabby are rehearsing and are then joined by Liz Morden who demands to be included which causes friction between her and Dabby. Ketch appears the end but is unanimously hated by the women who drive him away. Liz Morden: One of the most troublesome women, Governor Phillip wants to make an example out of her: through redemption, which is why he wants her in the play. Liz is accused of stealing food, but does not defend herself at her trial. The play makes her care enough about herself to defend herself when given the last chance in Act Two, Scene Ten, where she claims that before, speaking wouldn't have mattered. In Keneally's novel, her name is Nancy Turner. Neither name can be found on the list of First Fleet convicts. Scene 5. As he has been instructed Campbell brings the prisoners to rehearse the play with Ralph. Yet, the presence of the officers inhibits the play's progress as Ross ends up punishing Arscott. His sounds of punishment bring the rehearsal to a close.

Scene 5. We are introduced more personally to the convicts as the audition for the play called 'The Recruiting Officer' and these include 'Shitty' Meg, Dabby and Liz Morden. We see the friction that the convicts have between them and their low literacy levels.

Cyber incident

Captain Watkin Tench, RM: Tench is an officer who dislikes all of the convicts for the simple fact that they are convicts. Whenever he has a comment to make about them, it is always a sarcastic aside. He does not believe in the redemption of the convicts, nor in the fact that they can be converted from their criminal ways. He regards all of the convicts as barbarians, stating that hanging is "their favourite form of entertainment" (Act One, Scene Three). Ralph tells Philip that, because half of his actors are in prison, he wants to stop the play, but Philip exhorts him to continue trying, making Ralph see the much larger meaning that the play has for the colony. Philip especially advocates for Liz Morden, as he wants to make an example of her – through redemption. Scene 7. The Aborigine continues to watch on as he is not sure about what to do. Ralph rehearses the actors but it does not go well due to clear personality clashes as well as the convicts blatantly ignoring each others ideas. Wisehammer offers Ralph a new, more political, prologue. Ketch arrives to go hang Liz at the end. Scene 11. This is the convict cast's first rehearsal yet it is missing Kable and Arscott to which Dabby suggests have run away. The convicts humorously attempt some acting yet are silenced by the entrance of Campbell and Ross. The officers announce that Kable and Arscott are missing to which the officers blame Liz, Wisehammer and Caesar. This leaves the play in shambles. Lieutenant George Johnston, RM: An officer most famed for his "compassion, if not to say passion" (Act One, Scene Six) for the convict women. The real Johnston lived with a convict named Esther Abrahams and later took part in the Rum Rebellion.

An Aboriginal Australian: He describes the British settler's efforts with curiosity and later with fear. Depending on how prominent his appearances are made in a given staging, the subject of colonisation may become more and more central to the play. It is 1787, and a fleet of British convict ships is bound for Australia, where Captain Arthur Phillip will become Governor of one of the region’s first penal colonies. Not long after the military officers and their prisoners arrive, Phillip discusses the merits of punishment with Judge Collins, Captain Tench, and Midshipman Harry Brewer. Phillip is averse to cruel displays of discipline, but Tench believes in the value of capital punishment. As this discussion continues, the men turn their attention to the hanging of several convicts, which is set to take place soon. Phillip expresses his reservations regarding the spectacle, but Judge Collins suggests that public hangings instill a “mortar of fear” in the convicts that is necessary for a well-functioning “civilisation.” Agreeing with this, Tench explains that the hangings are the convicts’ “favourite form of entertainment.” This appalls Phillip, who suggests that the convicts should be exposed to other forms of entertainment, and when Tench makes fun of him for this, Phillip upholds that “no one is born naturally cultured,” saying that even he had to learn to appreciate things like theater. All the same, he instructs Harry to move forward with the hanging. Scene 6. The officers are all together and are debating the play and if the convicts should be allowed to take part. There is a big debate between the characters with strong arguments on both sides yet in the end the Governor allows Ralph to lead the play and for the play to proceed. The play's first production was at the Royal Court Theatre, London, on 10 September 1988, directed by Max Stafford-Clark. The production starred David Haig as Ralph Clark, Jim Broadbent as Harry Brewer, John Arscott and Captain Campbell, Linda Bassett as Lieutenant Will Dawes and Liz Morden, and Ron Cook as Captain Arthur Phillip and John Wisehammer. [1]John Arscott: John Arscott's hopelessness as a convict becomes apparent in Act Two, Scene One. He says, 'There's no escape I tell you.' His utter hopelessness becomes more apparent when it is revealed that his compass he bought from a sailor is actually a piece of paper with 'North' written on it. Depending upon the delivery, this line can be full of humour or full of pathos. He eventually becomes most lost in the play, claiming that he doesn't have to think about reality when he plays Kite, finding a different way of "escape" through the theatre. The real John Arscott never actually tried escaping and got rich enough after his liberation to return to England. One evening, the officers discuss theatre, punishment, criminality and morality, and debate the value of Ralph's project. Major Ross, his acolyte Captain Campbell, and the pragmatic Captain Tench express conservative opinions and oppose the play, which is defended vehemently by Philip, Collins and Ralph Clark. Collins conducts a vote and with the majority in favour, Ralph is allowed to start rehearsals.