Review Roundup: OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD at Lyric Hammersmith

Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is presenting Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Olivier Award-winning classic Our Country’s Good, directed by Artistic Director Rachel O’Riordan. 

This brand new Lyric production marks the eagerly awaited UK revival of the modern classic based on the extraordinary true story of Australia’s first penal colony. Timberlake Wertenbaker revisits her seminal play, collaborating with consultant Ian Michael, to honor the voice and history of Australia’s First Nations People.

The poignant and timely revival continues Rachel O’Riordan’s 2024 programming and continues productions she has helmed at the Lyric, including the recent critically-acclaimed productions of Faith Healer and Iphigenia in Splott (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre), of which the latter was voted as The Guardian’s top theatre show of 2022.

With deportation as punishment more relevant than ever before, Our Country’s Good takes on new meaning in 2024, playing at the Lyric until 05 October.

Starring in the production are Catrin Aaron (Richard III, Romeo and Julie) as Liz Morden/Lieutenant Will Dawes, Jack Bardoe (Love Labour’s Lost, A Voyage Round My Father) as John Arscott/Harry Brewer/Captain Jemmy Campbell,  Ruby Bentall (The Rubenstein Kiss, Ramona Tells Jim) as Mary Brenham/Reverend Johnson/Meg Long, Nick Fletcher (Minority Report, The Crucible) as Robert Sideway/Captain David Colllins, Olivier Huband (The Duchess of Malfi, Mission Impossible: Fallout) as Caesar/Captain Watkin Tench, Harry Kershaw (Fanny, Peter Pan Goes Wrong) as John Wisehammer/Captain Arthur Phillip, Finbar Lynch (The Deep Blue Sea, Hamlet) as Ketch Freeman/Major Robbie Ross, Simon Manyonda (The Crucible, Word-Play) as Second Lieutenant Ralph Clarke, Naarah (The Sunshine Club, The Sapphires) as Killara, Aliyah Odoffin (Sleepova, Everything I Know About Love) as Duckling Smith/Lieutenant George Johnston, and Nicola Stephenson (The Empress, War Horse) as Dabby Bryant/Second Lieutenant William Faddy.

See what the critics are saying...

Alexander Cohen, BroadwayWorld: 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.

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian: 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.

Holly O'Mahony , London Theatre: 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.

Clive Davis, The Times: 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.

Stephanie Osztreicher, West End Best Friend: 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.