Our Country’s Good West End Reviews

But a missing human touch is needed to counterbalance the heavy concepts. The tangled romances between the marines and convicts feel underwritten and overwrought through uncalibrated performances. As individuals the characters lack gravity, they are ...

But a missing human touch is needed to counterbalance the heavy concepts. The tangled romances between the marines and convicts feel underwritten and overwrought through uncalibrated performances. As individuals the characters lack gravity, they are only ever parts to the whole. It’s why the ensemble sequences really fizzle. Squabbles during rehearsals flecked with self-conscious jabs at pretentious theatre culture effortlessly blossom into the wider politics.

The gaps are, to some degree, filled by excellent performances from a cast that doubles up with agility as convicts and officers. Jack Bardoe gives a convincing turn as Harry Brewer, haunted by the dead man whose hanging he ordered, and smothering Du...

The gaps are, to some degree, filled by excellent performances from a cast that doubles up with agility as convicts and officers. Jack Bardoe gives a convincing turn as Harry Brewer, haunted by the dead man whose hanging he ordered, and smothering Duckling (Aliyah Odoffin, just as potent in her smaller part) with his controlling love.

Rachel O’Riordan’s production skilfully balances this serious messaging with humour. Bentall is brilliant at multi-roleing between the potty-mouthed Meg Long (a character deserving of a reappearance), the bumbling Reverend Johnson, and timid-unti...

Rachel O’Riordan’s production skilfully balances this serious messaging with humour. Bentall is brilliant at multi-roleing between the potty-mouthed Meg Long (a character deserving of a reappearance), the bumbling Reverend Johnson, and timid-until-sexually-awakened Mary. And Nick Fletcher's Robert Sideway, a pickpocket who fancies himself a thesp, is entertainingly flamboyant.

O’Riordan ensures that almost every inflection, every gesture, is over-egged in a production that self-consciously mixes the modern and the traditional. There is certainly no danger of forgetting that we are watching a play within a play when the d...

O’Riordan ensures that almost every inflection, every gesture, is over-egged in a production that self-consciously mixes the modern and the traditional. There is certainly no danger of forgetting that we are watching a play within a play when the delivery is so emphatic. At the same time, it’s hard to keep track of the storyline when the cast are switching back and forth between characters.

The production's strengths lie in its powerful performances and its ability to draw parallels between historical injustices and contemporary issues. However, it occasionally overplays the meta-theme of actors playing actors, risking distraction from ...

The production's strengths lie in its powerful performances and its ability to draw parallels between historical injustices and contemporary issues. However, it occasionally overplays the meta-theme of actors playing actors, risking distraction from the core narrative. While Our Country's Good speaks to a 2024 audience in many ways, it feels like a missed opportunity to more fully engage with the ongoing conversation about colonisation and its impact on First Nations people. The perspective presented feels somewhat limited given the emotional weight attached to these issues in contemporary Australia and the UK.