Local young talent takes centre stage with Timberlake Wertenbaker’s award-winning Our Country’s Good at Oxford Playhouse
Oxford Playhouse today announce a new production of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Olivier Award-winning play, Our Country’s Good, performed by its Young Company and directed by the venue’s Head of Participation & Artist Development, Paul Simpson. The cohort will perform on the Main Stage on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 March.
The eleven Young Company members, aged 17 to 25, bring to life the harsh world of 1780s Australia during the rise of the British Empire and the establishment of penal colonies.
Australia 1789. As the British Empire grows and penal colonies begin to establish themselves along the coastlines of the Pacific, the debate on the rehabilitation of criminals challenges a young lieutenant to become a theatre director, with the convicts as the cast of his play.
Establishing the unifying values of theatre, with the opportunity for structure, commitment and connection, each convict begins to confront the harsh realities of their individual journeys, ever in the presence of the brutality of the noose.
The Young Company cast features Celestina Allen as Mary Brenham, Viktoriia Astafieva as Duckling Smith, Maia Bradley as John Arscott/Meg Long/Lieutenant Will Dawes, Rahman Brown as Captain Arthur Phillip/Caesar, Tom Chapman as Midshipman Harry Brewer/Major Robbie Ross, Angus Godfrey as John Wisehammar/Captain Watkin Tench, Joe Hichens as Robert Sideway/Captain David Collins, Oscar Luckett as Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark, Martha Paxton as Dabby Bryant/Second Lieutenant William Faddy, Adam Slater as Ketch Freeman/Captain Jemmy Campbell, and Vicky Stone as Liz Morden/Reverend Johnson.
The Playhouse Young Company is a collaborative ensemble of Oxfordshire young people who want to create theatre and develop their performance skills. The two-term project, starting in the Autumn, offers an opportunity to hone skills in voice, movement, and expression, before exploring a chosen script.
The company’s annual main stage performance is a culmination of the project. This year, audiences will be invited to step behind the theatre’s curtain, with seating positioned on the stage itself. The space around them will be transformed into an intimate studio theatre, brought to life by The Playhouse production team.
The creative and production team includes Paul Simpson (Director), Anna White (Assistant Director), Leah O’Grady (Producer), Emma Webb (Movement Director), Ashley Bale (Technical Director), Immy Howard (Costume and Set Designer), Tang Jackson (Stage Manager), Will Hayman (Lighting Designer), Gus Van Spyk (Sound Designer). The production is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
The Playhouse is delighted to welcome Anna White to its creative team for this production. She is a former Young Company member who played a lead role in last year’s Young Company show, Blue Stockings. This will mark her Playhouse assistant directorial debut.
Paul Simpson said of the upcoming production:
“As Director of the Playhouse Young Company for the last three years, I have had the privilege and joy to collaborate with so many young people who choose theatre as a means to understand themselves and explore the world around them. I’m delighted to be working with this year’s company, who have chosen to be a part of a collaborative effort to share creativity and stories. The themes of Our Country’s Good could not be better represented by this ethos, and I’m so incredibly proud to present this year’s production.”
Tickets for Our Country’s Good at Oxford Playhouse are £15 and are available from Box Office: 01865 305305 or to book online at www.oxfordplayhouse.com