A new production of Timberlake Wertenbaker's drama will undergo a limited run at the Lyric Hammersmith from next month.
Our Country's Good artwork..
Written and directed by Rachel O'Riordan, the Artistic Director of Lyric Hammersmith, the Olivier Award-winning drama Our Country's Good is inspired by the remarkable true story of Australia's first penal colony.
Our Country's Good is about the power of redemption and transformation through art, particularly focusing on how a group of convicts and officers in a penal colony find hope and humanity by staging a play. Timberlake Wertenbaker is revisiting her seminal play in collaboration with consultant Ian Michael. The production will honour the voice and history of Australia's First Nation People.
Starring in the production are Catrin Aaron (Richard III) as Liz Morden/Lieutenant Will Dawes, Jack Bardoe (Love Labour’s Lost) as John Arscott/Harry Brewer/Captain Jemmy Campbell, Ruby Bentall (The Rubenstein Kiss) as Mary Brenham/Reverend Johnson/Meg Long, Nick Fletcher (Minority Report) as Robert Sideway/Captain David Collins, Olivier Huband (The Duchess of Malfi) as Caesar/Captain Watkin Tench, Harry Kershaw (Peter Pan Goes Wrong) as John Wisehammer/Captain Arthur Phillip, Finbar Lynch (The Deep Blue Sea) as Ketch Freeman/Major Robbie Ross, Simon Manyonda (The Crucible) as Second Lieutenant Ralph Clarke, Naarah (The Sunshine Club) as First Nations Narrator, Aliyah Odoffin (Sleepova) as Duckling Smith/Lieutenant George Johnston, and Nicola Stephenson (War Horse) as Dabby Bryant/Second Lieutenant William Faddy.
The creative team also includes Set & Costume Design by Gary McCann, Lighting Design by Paul Keogan, Sound Design by Gregory Clarke, Music by Holly Khan, Cultural Consulting by Ian Michael, Casting by Isabella Odoffin CDG, Casting Assisting by Joanna Sturrock, Fight & Intimacy Direction by Bethan Clark, Dialect and Voice Coaching by Joel Trill, and Assistant Direction by Harper K. Hefferon.
Our Country's Good will play at the Lyric Hammersmith from 5 September - 5 October 2024, following on from the new musical Fangirls which plays its final performance on the 24th August.
