Our Country's Good

Rating:
Summary: "We left our country for our country's good..."
Review: How do you begin? One of the most interesting plays of at least the last 15 years, Timberlake Wertenbaker opens up for any audience a stunning tempest of plots, sub-plots and characters, from Harry Brewer to Meg Long. Each character is different and each has their own story to tell, each in their own way. I was first introduced to this book through my school studies as a lot of people are, but the following two years were intensely enjoyable, what higher praise if there is a play that can make A-Levels more bearable? I don't think I could say anything more profound than that as anyone else who has read it will agree. It is also the ideal play for a school production, a cast from between 11 - 23 people and as many males or females as you want. Perfect.

Rating:
Summary: Good God, How I Hate This Play
Review: I was in this play in college (also as David Collins, same as another reviewer, ironically) and yet I absolutely hated this play. Not only do I think that the dramatic action is just plain stupid (the structure of the play completely inhibits any dramatic build), most of the monologues do not read at all.
The male and female leads have a barely developed relationship that is almost never seen onstage. The male lead is possibly the most boring priss ever written. Supporting parts are barely examined or are introduced and then dropped (i.e. Watkin Tench, Collins, Meg, etc.) The play further ignores huge character points that were developed in the book, for instance, the past relationship between Dabby Bryant and the male lead. The only character in this drama worth playing is Harry Brewer who nonetheless is still a bizarre character whose Gollum-Schizophrenia monologue is almost as stupid as his lover's "If you live, I will..." monologue. How in God's name you actually build her speech in any fashion I'll never understand.
Essentially, the play tries unsuccessfully to mesh together realism with various Brechtian devices. While I can appreciate the play as something different from a lot of what is on the modern stage, sometimes change is not a good thing, as this piece of artistic pretension demonstrates.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing play!
Review: My college will be staging "Our Country's Good" in a month, and I'm fortunate enough to be cast as Judge Collins (although I really wanted the role of Harry Brewer). And I have to say it's gonna be one awesome play. My fellow cast members and I simply can't stop being amazed by how well written the play is. Every dialogue is so richly written that there isn't a character not worth playing. Every character, no matter the amount of their stage appearance, is brimming with personality and history, making them joy to play.

And the fact that this play is based on historical facts makes it even more cool. The British penal colony in Sydney, Australia of 1788 never looked more appealing.

If you like plays about redemption and hidden virtues of men (and women, of course) with eloquently written dialogues, then you simply must check out this play. Top-notch stuff.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing play!
Review: My college will be staging "Our Country's Good" in a month, and I'm fortunate enough to be cast as Judge Collins (although I really wanted the role of Harry Brewer). And I have to say it's gonna be one awesome play. My fellow cast members and I simply can't stop being amazed by how well written the play is. Every dialogue is so richly written that there isn't a character not worth playing. Every character, no matter the amount of their stage appearance, is brimming with personality and history, making them joy to play.

And the fact that this play is based on historical facts makes it even more cool. The British penal colony in Sydney, Australia of 1788 never looked more appealing.

If you like plays about redemption and hidden virtues of men (and women, of course) with eloquently written dialogues, then you simply must check out this play. Top-notch stuff.

Rating:
Summary: A marvelous comedy-drama
Review: One of the more touching ensemble plays I've ever encountered (and acted in). Every character has a moment of introspection, and the interactions between the characters sweep warmly from political debate to screwball interpretations of "theatre" to romance---both budding and struggling to survive. This play also has the virtue of being highly readable offstage. I give it my highest recommendations.