Our Country's Good (Bristol Old Vic)

Some 26 years after its premiere at the Royal Court in 1988, Our Country’s Good has taken its place in the pantheon of famous plays, on the syllabus of school and university courses all over the world. It's little wonder, as it’s a play that gets right to the heart of why theatre is important and the positive effect it can have on people, whether as spectator or active participant. You can imagine a large portion of the audience on watching the play sitting back and thinking wistfully on their own formative experiences in the theatre.

Timberlake Wertenbaker‘s play, based on Thomas Keneally‘s novel The Playmaker, follows the first group of convicts sent out to Australia and their attempts to stage George Farqhar‘s The Recruiting Officer. Through the rehearsal period they find purpose and their own voice, a still relevant text today when many of us are looking for our own sense of who and what we are.

Max Stafford-Clark revives his original production, and though he is let down by a couple of weak central performances, there is enough sparkle in other roles to remind us what a compelling play this is. Kathryn O’Reilly is terrific – at first terrifying, but gradually morphing into the moral centre of the play, who saves her neck when she at last last speaks up , whilst Tom Andrews effectively doubles as the progressive governor of the island hitting upon the idea of staging the play and as a loquacious wannabe playwright. Jessica Tomchak goes from shy duckling to majestic leading lady and follows a regular pattern in the history of theatre and falls in love with the director.

Stafford-Clarke proves what a fine theatre-maker he is; the pacing is pitched just right and he controls the emotional peaks with a deft hand. It’s a pleasure to watch a great play revived so lovingly by the man who helped bring it into the world in the first place. After its original tour in 2012/2013, this is its last British stop on its current tour (it is off to America next), but more tour dates are promised for the Autumn. One can but hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of it on these shores.

– Kris Hallett