4 Saltus Stage
The Saltus annual production of Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker was a truly special moment in the school calendar. This incredible team effort brough a fascinating moment in history to life. The finished production was a real testament to the hard work, dedication, creativity and talent of our students both on stage and behind the scenes.
At one time Britain was an empire on which the sun never set. Our Country’s Good is based on the real adventures of some of the brave souls whose job it was to maintain that empire. On the 18th of January,
1788 the first fleet of British prison ships, under the command of Arthur Phillip, arrive at Botany Bay in New South Wales, Australia and soon settle up the coast at Port Jackson, the site of current-day Sydney.
Many of the prisoners had been convicted of minor theft (stealing a loaf of bread was crime enough to earn deportation). Our Royal Naval Dockyard was built, in part, by prisoners on their way to Australia. In our production we imagine the fleet took a couple of locals with them- Dabby (Chelsea Bishop) and Caesar (Toriah Smith)!
This production provided a special challenge for Ryan Day (pictured above), who had to change the time, location and mood of each scene purely though a subtle change of lighting. He was sSupported by team of S10 and S11 students who performed backstage, costume and front-of-house duties.
Below are photographs taken during the dress rehearsal with further information about the play and relevance to Bermuda opposite.
A massive thanks goes out to all involved in making this production a success- it could not have been done without you!