I first saw this play in 1998 at the Young Vic, ten years after it was first produced at the Royal Court, where Max Stafford-Clark was directing, and loved it for its blend of history, compassion, wit and cruelty. I didn’t love the cruelty of course, but recognised how important it was to show how far we have progressed in terms of penal reform and how precious is our present system of justice.

Based on Thomas Keneally’s novel The Playmaker, Our Country’s Good is about a real life event in the 1780s when convicts in Australia performed George Farquhar’s play The Recruiting Officer. It has become a modern classic and is on the A level examination syllabus ensuring frequent productions. 

Each actor, bar Dominic Thorburn as Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark, the British marine officer casting and directing the play, takes on at least two roles with clever costume changes disguising the switch. Central to the story is the hope of redemption for the prisoners when given the chance to change themselves through the medium of drama.

Kathryn O’Reilly plays Liz Morden, a seemingly irredeemable convict, rough of voice and rough of manner, who is surprisingly cast as one of the play’s female leads, Melinda. Prior to this play, Liz’s only experiences of Ladies was them screaming when she robbed them. Laura Dos Santos plays convict Mary Brenham who will take the female lead of Silvia and who, unlike many of the other women, can read and write. As Silvia finds her husband in The Recruiting Officer, so Mary will find her man through the play.