We are talking about criminals, often hardened criminals. They have a habit of vice and crime. Many criminals seem to have been born that way. It is in their nature.

Captain Phillip believes that it is his Officers’ duty to rehabilitate convicts rather than continually punish them for their criminal past. He commissions a young and opportunistic Second Lieutenant, Ralph Clark, to stage a theatre production performed by the inmates. Battling ridicule and the threat of hanging, Ralph and the actors discover the lives they could have led if society had cast them in different roles.

Witty and thought-provoking, Wertenbaker’s masterpiece questions the meaning of ‘civilised’ society as we know it and who has the right to determine and shape its future.

Anna Girvan trained in Bristol and honed her craft at Tobacco Factory Theatres. She has since gone on to work at the RSC and the National Theatre, most recently working as Staff Director to Patrick Marber on Exit the King.

Our Country’s Good and A Midsummer Night’s Dream are part of the second Factory Company season at Tobacco Factory Theatres.