OUR COUNTRYS GOOD by Timberlake Wertenbaker (Mirvish/Out of Joint). At the Royal Alexandra (260 King West). Runs to October 26. $25-$99. 416-872-1212. See listings. Rating: NNN
How gratifying to see a revival of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good on the 25th anniversary of its premiere, helmed by the original director, Max Stafford-Clark. It’s a stunning script a memorable indie version was mounted here more than a decade ago by Daryl Cloran and Theatrefront. Unfortunately, not everything works in this current production.
Based loosely on Thomas Kennealy’s novel The Playmaker, it’s set in 18th-century Australia’s first penal colony. Well-meaning British lieutenant Ralph Clark (Nathan Ives-Moiba) decides to put on a play starring a rogue’s gallery of prisoners, some illiterate, most terrified of the whip and the noose.
Clark’s officer colleagues doubt the wisdom of this experiment, and at first the prisoner actors bicker among themselves over petty details. But soon it’s clear the act of putting on a play – in this case the Restoration comedy The Recruiting Officer – stokes the prisoners’ imaginations, giving them a sense of purpose, pride and dignity.
Wertenbaker’s script, besides being a fascinating look at early Australian history (most of the characters are real or composites), is also a clever meta-theatrical experience, with lines like “People who can’t pay attention shouldn’t go to the theatre” being spoken to the audience, breaking the fourth wall.
Some of Stafford-Clark’s choices are too broad, particularly in the first half. It takes a while to distinguish among the officers, and the use of an Aboriginal character (played by Cornelius Macarthy) doesn’t resonate theatrically.
The performances, too, are uneven, some hammy and overdone, others – like Simon Darwen’s prisoner, John Wisehammer, who’s obsessed with words and has a lovely speech near the end that brings in the play’s title – full of shading.
Kudos to designers Tim Shortall (set) and Johanna Town (lighting), who help give life to this chapter of history.
