Wanda Polaszek

I didn’t see the award-winning premier production of this play at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 1988 but when I read the script I was struck immediately be its central theme of the humanizing power of drama. This power of theatre to redeem and unite us as human beings is an important truth for me as an educator and a theatre artist. Our Country’s Good is based on the novel, The Playmaker, byThomas Keneally, and the primary sources for both are the letters and journals of some of the people you see portrayed tonight. The characters in this play did exist and Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark did indeed direct a convict production of Farquhar’s The Recruiting Officer in Sydney in 1789. I would like to thank my cast who shared their skills and experienee. We had a lot of fun. I would like to thank my producer and all the crews, without whom this wouldn’t have been possible, my colleagues at HKIS who supported me throughout this venture and, last but not least, my family who put up with my absences.