Quick post to say hi again! Slightly back-dated but they are now on tour... follow them. It's worth it:
The St James’s Theatre is a shiny new performance space in
London, so it is suitable that its opening night was the first performance of
‘Our Country’s Good’, a play that is still vibrant and relevant even though
it’s original run was in 1991. Directed by Max Stafford-Clark, the play, an
unconventional love-letter to the unbeatable ability of theatre to bring people
together, takes place in 1780s Australia; a handful of unfortunate conflicts
find escape and a new lease of life in Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark’s determined
rehearsal of ‘The Recruiting Officer’. The set used by the Out of Joint theatre
company was beautifully evocative. Stark, simple, but nevertheless filled with
the warm colours of hot, earthy Australia, and with foldable cloths falling from the ceiling to act in turn as
a ship’s sails, stage curtains and tents, the small stage did exactly what it
was there for; framing the action. And what action it was; with a minimal cast,
most taking on both a role of a convict (the oppressed) and of a military
figure (the oppressors), this tightly compact drama never stopped going, and
never stopped surprising. Fuelled by an incredible cast, alive to every nuance
of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s text – notably Lisa Kerr as Duckling, Kathryn
O’Reilly as Liz Morden, and Ciaran Owens in the two completely polarised roles
of harmless hangman and brutish Captain (although it hardly seems fair to pick
names from such a pile) – the play pulled the audience from moment to moment,
one minute presenting us with devastating tragedy and cruelty, the next with
the beauty of simple human connection and strength. With not a heart unmoved in
the entire house, this wonderful revival got a highly deserved standing
ovation. They didn’t put a foot wrong.
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| Tristram Kenton for the Guardian |
It was absolutely fantastic, wasn't it!
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