Saltus Stage 5
Our Country's Good
“We left our country for our country’s good” –Wisehammer.
Many of the convicts’ wardens are military men who fought and lost the war against the American colonies. There is a sense that they have all of them been condemned to the task of founding a self-sustaining colony in a land where farming is difficult, disease is rampant and the aboriginal population is fearful and often hostile to the newcomers.
At a time of extremely low supplies and low hopes, with the future of the colony in question, 2nd Lieutenant Ralph Clark decides to stage a production of George Farquhar's comedy The Recruiting Officer using convicts, many of them illiterate, as his cast. His intention is not only to raise morale but also make a favorable impression upon his superiors and secure a promotion. This is a play about hope, survival and the power of theatre.