Our Country's Good

Huntingdon Drama Club finally returned to their long time performance venue, The Commemoration Hall after an absence of several years caused by a combination of lockdowns and refurbishment of the building to bring this thought provoking production to the stage.

The floor of the newly, very well refurbished hall, with the walls now painted theatre black, with the stage itself laid out in the round as if it is being performed in a modern day prison, cleverly titled in the programme as ‘HMP Commhall’. Cleverly stage managed by Lola Harling, thus we had a small intimate setting with only two rows of seating on three sides, giving a reduced audience capacity of about seventy. The cast members not performing stayed in full sight seated by the stage throughout, thus scene changes were quick and uncluttered. A big risk financially, I hope it worked out for them, but it was certainly a full audience on the performance we saw.

Costumes by Sarah Stammler, Trish Brook and Marian Nicholson were pale blue T-shirts for the prisoners and green ones for their guards, with the exception of Second Lt. Ralph Clark brilliantly played by Theresa Kopplin who wore a jacket and pink tie as the director of the play the prisoners themselves eventually put on, which actually did make her look like a naval officer. Undoubtedly I missed the plot, but I didn’t get why the other officers only wore their green T-shirts and were not similar to Clark’s uniform…?

Our Country’s Good is basically an imaginary story about the real people who first colonised Australia after arriving for the very first time in Botany Bay, and how there are two different points of view as to how to treat the prisoners and colonise this new outpost of the British Empire. Those who want to employ harsh discipline and those, such as the governor who desire a more human approach. It is told using 22 different scenes in this just over two hour long play. Each of which was announced by a narrator played by Helen Reece and each went seamlessly into the next with a change of lighting, slickly operated by Jason Austin on the control desk to the rear of the auditorium, with quick exits and entrances by the cast.

The show was cast gender neutral for some of the male parts, which may or may not have been for practical purposes, (not enough males?) but once you got used to it, it did actually work quite well. Theresa Kopplin was an excellent Second Lt Ralph Clark RM and likewise Alice Wilsmore as Captain David Collins RM, Eva Fekete as Captain Watkin Tench RN and Michelle Gibson as Lt Will Dawes RM.

The male members of the cast playing prison guards really were quite intimidating, Andy Wilkes, a man of physical presence playing Major Robbie Ross RM particularly stood out in that capacity, with a really powerful performance, putting across the uncompromising attitude of distrust, ably backed up by Guy Makey as Captain Jemmy Campbell RM with a menacing Scottish accent that sent shivers down your spine and further backed up by Harry Georgiou as Second Lt William Faddy RM. This was in direct comparison to the Governor, Captain Arthur Philip played by Miles Greves, who looked to have a more conciliatory attitude going forward.

Then there those with a conscience forced to carry out unpleasant punishments wrestling with themselves and trying to remain humane without compromising their own situation, such as hangman James ‘Ketch’ Freeman played by Dean Laccohee, with a rather good Irish brogue. Doing what was right and doing what he had to do to survive were fully embraced by Dean Laccohee’s excellent portrayal.Abid Shamim aided by a didgeridoo, a well placed shawl and reduced lighting added an atmospheric presence, as he skulked around the stage as an Aboriginal Australian, observing the invasion of his land for the first time in their history, serving as a chilling reminder of the damage about to be done to their ancient way of life. Abid also played Caesar who volunteered to be the servant in the play when none existed.

Emily Packer played a very plausible Reverend Johnson, ironically something more common than not in the 21st century, but of course a complete taboo in the 18th! The contrast in prisoners was extremely well highlighted from the defiant to the submissive, the humiliation of the ‘posh’ Robert Sideway, very well played by Jordan White was a running theme whenever the guards felt particularly sadistic. Or Naomi Ing as Duckling Smith, unable to get over her lover’s death by hanging and not at all grateful to Lt Clarke for saving her and having her transported instead. But even on the Guards side personal emotions were brought to the fore such as Martin Fearon as Midshipman Harry Brewer wrestling with loneliness and seeing the ghosts of the men he has hanged. Or Nathanael Spalding as John Wisehammer whose political speech is condemned by the other prisoners as too dangerous. Powerful stuff!

Talking of powerful performances, Josephine Hussey was in top form as Liz Morden, whorefused to defend herself at her own trial, and resigned herself to die. Very powerful stuff indeed!

What was quite startling was that once Lt Clark started rehearsals the prisoners couldn’t get the difference between acting a part and being themselves, with cries such as, ‘But I have to become that person!’ from Becky Gilbert as Mary Brenham cast alongside her friend Dabby Bryant, played by Jennie Osborne in lead roles in the play. Very well put across, both quite sad and humorous at the same time. It was the way little contrasts like that made you stop and think that made this a very cleverly thoughtout production.

Clever programme as well by Miles Greves. Put an ‘Intro to NODA’ in it and we would have been able to enter it for the programme competition. Pity!

At the interval I found myself comparing notes with another member of the audience, whose reaction was, shall we say, hesitant, ‘Very good, but I think I need to do some research when I get home. But I can certainly do another hour of this.’ I sort of felt the same way - a powerful play that I probably need to see a couple of times to fully take in the whole plot, with all its nuances and alien attitudes. I feel I’ve only taken in a fraction of the story and all its subplots, but it will certainly stick in the memory for quite a while and HDC should be given full credit for the clever, imaginative and thought-provoking way they presented it. Well done indeed to Directors Matthew Clift and Tim Bold, excellent job, you are braver men than me!

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