Our Country's Good: Based on the Novel the "Playmaker" by Thomas Kenneally (Student Editions)

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Mary Brenham is a shy girl who was dragged into stealing by the man with the initials “A.H” tattooed on her thigh. She gets hauled to the auditions for the play by Dabby Bryant and ends up getting accepted after only reading a few lines. Her and Ralph fall in love and imagine a future together however there is always a power dynamic imbalance with Ralph believing he is better than her because she is a convict. Dabby Bryant be deemed age-appropriate by the Head of Centre who must submit a declaration to AQA confirming that he/she has approved the plays chosen for practical study The play was performed at the Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum Theatre, directed by Caroline Hall and featuring Louise Gold as Lieutenant Will Dawes and Liz Morden. [1] It was also presented at the Liverpool Playhouse in 2007. Among the cast members was Charlie Brooks. The actors also provided a workshop for real life convicts in Walton Prison. [ citation needed] Awards and nominations [ edit ] 1988 Laurence Olivier Award In the third scene, Sydney Cove, Governor Arthur Phillip, Judge David Collins, Captain Watkin Tench, and Midshipman Harry Brewer talk about the punishment the convicts are given. Some characters see the establishment of a new colony just to imprison people as pointless as well as the capital punishment by hanging. From their conversation, the reader finds that a person could be given the sentence of death by hanging for stealing food, describing thus the punishments as being extremely cruel and even unjust at times. Some of the men do not think that the convicts can be thought to be good and as such, they are seen as a lost cause. When the Governor tries to convince the rest of the men that the convicts need to be treated like humans and educated, he is laughed at, proving just how little hope the rest had for the convicts on the island.

Our Country’s Good is both a comedy and a powerful drama which shows us how we can escape the chains that bind us. In the play, Mary is a shy young woman who's a convict because she was caught stealing. Her friend, Dabby Bryant, drags her to the audition for The Recruiting Officer. Mary impresses Ralph, and he casts her in one of the leading roles. She's one of the only convicts who can read. Mary falls in love with Ralph and dreams of her future with him. Captain Watkin Tench Play choice approval is an essential part of the specification. Failure to seek timely approval will be treated as maladministration and failure to gain timely approval may result in delays to the assessment taking place.There are three prohibited play combinations for the exam: students must not answer on both Butterworth’s Jerusalem from List A and Teale’s Brontë, Gurira’s The Convert, or Ellams’ Three Sisters from List B. This is because these texts were written at a similar time. Section A: Drama through the ages The convicts knew their lines absolutely because they had nothing else to do and they didn't want to waste time with pleasantries; as soon as you came into the room they started rehearsing. The two hours were very intense because the time was so valuable and we saw immediately how doing a play could become absolutely absorbing if you were incarcerated. Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark: Ralph is struggling as a lower officer. He desperately wants promotion, and when he hears through Harry Brewer that Arthur Phillip has suggested a play be put on by the convicts, he jumps to set about doing it. You see his transformation in the play as he turns from a man who is extremely nervous and uneasy around women, even ridiculed for not having a woman convict for himself on the voyage to Australia, to a man in love with the convict Mary Brenham. He is influenced, to changing his feelings towards the convicts, by Arthur Phillip, giving them respect in the end, apologising to Liz Morden for interrupting her line in a rehearsal. The real Ralph Clark later had a daughter with Mary Brenham, whom he named Betsey Alicia – for his wife in England. The Reflective report must be presented as a written document. Evidence for the Reflective report must be Dabby Bryant: Mary's friend who constantly dreams of returning to Devon. Although she did sell Mary for food on the ship, she obviously cares for her. Although she seems to enjoy the play, she thinks the content and especially her character, Rose, are stupid and argues for a play that is more relevant towards their current situation. In the final scene, she reveals that she has plans for escaping that night. The real Mary Bryant would indeed become famous for a daring escape in 1791.

Extract 1, Extract 2 and Extract 3 must be taken from a different play and understood in the context of the whole play. have an awareness of how their design will impact on the live performance as a whole. The Working notebook Johnson isn’t a very prominent character in the play. He was supposed to provide moral guidance to the convicts and the officers. He is very concerned with what the play portrays religiously and focuses more on that than any other matter. Lieutenant George JohnstonSee Knowledge and understanding for details. In their answers for Section A and Section B students should: Step 2: Focus on one section of the play. The section must be substantial, which is defined as taking at least 10 minutes to perform if performed. Large groups will need to study a longer section (see Step 3). Students should study the section chosen in depth, taking time to thoroughly explore and interpret it. One night, Ralph finds Mary rehearsing alone on the beach. When he joins her and recites the lines of her character’s lover, they begin to feel a connection, and their fake embrace turns into something real. As they take off their clothes, Ralph admits he’s never seen a naked woman before—not even his wife. An Aboriginal Australian: He describes the British settler's efforts with curiosity and later with fear. Depending on how prominent his appearances are made in a given staging, the subject of colonisation may become more and more central to the play.

they answer on for Section C ie the live production seen cannot be one of their set plays. Section B: 20th and 21st century dramaMary is rehearsing on her own. Ralph joins her. Reciting their lines in the play, they end up confessing their love. The key extracts chosen must be significant to the play as a whole ie pivotal to plot, character(s) or theme(s). Students must not answer Section A or Section B of the exam on the same play they answer on for Section C ie the live production seen cannot be one of their set plays. Section C: Live theatre production List A – these plays have been selected to represent significant drama through the ages. Playwright Liz Morden is a troublesome convict who quarrels with the others. She's accused of stealing food, and she's sentenced to death. At first, she doesn't defend herself, but she later reveals that she didn't say that she wasn't the thief because she didn't think anyone would listen to her. By the end of the play, Liz gets along with the other actors in the play. Ketch Freeman