Our Country’s Good: A Study Guide

A pack of ordinary playing cards provided director Stafford-Clark with a range of games and activities which he used when rehearsing ‘Our Country’s Good’ written by Timberlake Wertenbaker back in 1988 - when neither of them had any idea that the play would become such a seminal text. Based on the novel ‘The Playmaker’ by Thomas Keneally - which in turn is based on real events - it follows the exploits of a group of convicts transported to Australia to serve their time and their attempts to stage a play with the help of their captors.

This volume serves as a practical guide to the performance of the play, providing the historical and political background, a scene by scene breakdown, guidelines for set and props and analysis of all the characters. While some of this can be found elsewhere the book provides valuable insights into the directing process including the imaginative games and activities used by Stafford-Clark. The book should provide any teacher or director with all they need to mount their own insightful production.