“Spewed from our country, forgotten, bound to the dark edge of the earth…”

Thomas Barrett, aged 17: Transported seven years for stealing one ewe sheep. Dorothy Handland, aged 82:  Sentenced to hanging for stealing a biscuit… 

1787 and British justice is both extreme and brutal. Criminals, some with minor convictions, are transported over 15,000 miles to Britain’s first penal colony in Australia.  

Our Country’s Good is set amongst the harsh and cruel conditions of the colony. It focuses on the staging of Australia’s first ever dramatic production – George Farquhar’s The Recruiting Officer.  

This real-life historic event was unique in many ways – it was directed by a British Naval officer and its cast consisted of the colony’s convicts… most of whom could not even read. 

As they rehearse, this ragged group of convicts put aside their horrific environment, the vicious treatment meted out by guards and their own personal differences to stage a play – illustrating the redemptive power of theatre and its ability to unite, inspire and liberate.