Our Country's Good: Based Upon the Novel the Playmaker, by Thomas Keneally

by Timberlake Wertenbaker and Thomas Keneally

Book Overview

Part of the Modern Plays series aimed at the burgeoning readership of young theatregoers, this title and five others are reissued, representing the range and vitality of the list of 170 titles in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0871293420
• ISBN13: 9780871293428
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Dramatic Pub. Co
• Length: 109 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 17.8" x 12.1" x 12.1"

Customer Reviews

Great show

If you haven't seen Our Country's Good you are missing out on a great piece of theatre work. It has magnificent dialogue and the plot is very good.

An amazing piece of drama

As an A level theatre studies student, "Our Country's Good" is, for me, an extraordinary simulacrum of our current trauma, and the ways in which art can both enlighten the best in us and help us to transcend the intolerable worst. The last reviewer, who stated the play as `stupid', obviously has no imagination and knows little about the underlying themes and context within each character and the play as a whole. Rich, funny, haunting, and deeply moving, Wertenbaker has searched history and found a humanistic parable for our harsh modern era: theatre is what makes us human in the face of absolute cruelty. "Our Country's Good" is definitely a must-read and see for anyone who believes in the ability of the theatre to move and change lives.

"We left our country for our country's good..."

How do you begin? One of the most interesting plays of at least the last 15 years, Timberlake Wertenbaker opens up for any audience a stunning tempest of plots, sub-plots and characters, from Harry Brewer to Meg Long. Each character is different and each has their own story to tell, each in their own way. I was first introduced to this book through my school studies as a lot of people are, but the following two years were intensely enjoyable, what higher praise if there is a play that can make A-Levels more bearable? I don't think I could say anything more profound than that as anyone else who has read it will agree. It is also the ideal play for a school production, a cast from between 11 - 23 people and as many males or females as you want. Perfect.

A marvelous comedy-drama

One of the more touching ensemble plays I've ever encountered (and acted in). Every character has a moment of introspection, and the interactions between the characters sweep warmly from political debate to screwball interpretations of "theatre" to romance---both budding and struggling to survive. This play also has the virtue of being highly readable offstage. I give it my highest recommendations.

A great modern play

This is one of the best plays I've ever read, with a large cast of extremely well rounded characters, scenes that range from humourous to poignant, and written with a stage sense that is hard to match. If you haven't read anything by this playwright, get it now! And stage it if you can, so that others can find out about it...