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. . . "Wertenbaker has searched history and found in it a humanistic lesson for hard modern times: rough, sombre, undogmatic and warm" (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" (Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph)

An Australian penal colony in 1789. A young lieutenant directs rehearsals of the Restoration comedy, "The Recruiting Officer". With a cast of convicts, opposition from sadistic officers and a leading lady who is due to be hanged, Australia's first theatrical production is in trouble from the start.

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.

Reviews
Wertenbaker's play remains terrifyingly relevant ... movingly demonstrates the power of drama to change minds ... it's a play that still leaves its audience, like its subjects, transported. -- Michael Billington * Guardian *
A trenchant and uplifting case for the transformative power of theatre ... Wertenbaker's play is unashamedly idealistic but it's not sentimental ... how a theatrical production can offer a microcosmic image of liberating self-transcendence and true community. -- Paul Taylor * Independent *
A modern classic ... bursting with humanity, humour, heartache and passion ... this moving celebration of the power of drama to change lives for the good. -- Charles Spencer * Telegraph *
An instant modern classic ... this rich, warm play, with its impassioned advocacy of the humanising power of art ... huge themes roll around the stage - about art, social injustice and inequity, punishment and reform. But Wertenbaker also paints a vivid picture of an impromptu community improvising their way forward. -- Sarah Hemming * Financial Times *
Vivid and persuasive ... There is love and lust and loss and infighting and cruelty and a few decent laughs too ... earthy, argumentative and alive ... it makes a political point palpable: there's something intrinsically theatrical and implicitly political about the joint act of let's pretend. Our Country's Good reminds us that there is such a thing as society. -- Dominic Maxwell * The Times *
A powerful plea for theatre as a humanising force -- Jane Edwardes * The Sunday Times *
A modern classic ... a host of meaty themes: injustice, crime and punishment, social boundaries, and the effects of colonialism ... Wertenbaker's writing feels trenchant and satisfyingly fresh. She makes a lucid case for the invigorating, even therapeutic powers of theatre. The result is a politically charged piece, and a hopeful one. -- Henry Hitchings * Evening Standard *
It remains an exceptional piece of writing ... Wertenbaker writes mostly unsentimentally and always interestingly, conjuring a deliciously detailed world. -- Andrzej Lukowski * Time Out *



Book Information
ISBN 9781474261395
Author Timberlake Wertenbaker
Format Hardback
Page Count 112
Imprint Methuen Drama
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 281g