Full cast and creative team announced for 'Our Country’s Good' at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

Based on the true story of Australia’s first penal colony in the 1780s, Timberlake Wertenbaker's play explores the power of theatre as a force for good.

The full cast and creative team has been announced for Rachel O’Riordan's new production of Timberlake Wertenbaker's Our Country’s Good, which opens at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre on 5 September.

Based on the true story of Australia’s first penal colony in the 1780s, Wertenbaker's play explores the power of theatre as a force for good.

The cast includes 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, and Olivier Huband (The Duchess of Malfi, Mission Impossible: Fallout) as Caesar/Captain Watkin Tench.

The cast is completed by 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 First Nations Narrator, 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.

The creative team includes set and costume Design by Gary McCann, lighting design by Paul Keogan, sound design by Gregory Clarke, music by Holly Khan, fight and intimacy direction by Bethan Clark, dialect and voice coaching by Joel Trill, and assistant direction by Harper K. Hefferon.

Rachel O’Riordan, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, said: “Timberlake Wertenbaker’s seminal play Our Country’s Good is a visceral story that reminds us of not only the dark history of the British Empire and Australia’s first penal colony, but also explores the morality of our justice systems. Through the story of transportation of criminals, the play invites audiences to interrogate whether deportation as punishment ever works and probes the ethics behind our prison systems. Collaborating with Timberlake alongside Ian Michael, our show’s First Nation consultant, has been an incredible joy and I am honored to bring this ensemble piece to life in this contemporary and bold revival.”

Book Our Country's Good tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: Jack Bardoe, Catrin Aaron, and Aliyah Odoffin. (Photos courtesy of production)