Our Country's Good: form

Our Country’s Good: form

Form in ‘Our Country’s Good’

The Play Form

  • As a play, ‘Our Country’s Good’ is inherently performative and brings an immediacy to the experiences depicted.
  • The dialogue-driven nature of the form allows Wertenbaker to present varying viewpoints and ideologies among the characters.
  • Through the play within a play structure, Wertenbaker mirrors the transformative impact of the play both on the convict players and the audience.

Double-Casting

  • ‘Our Country’s Good’, when performed, often uses double-casting, where one actor takes on multiple roles.
  • Double-casting creates a visual impact, emphasising the contrast between colonials and convicts, or showing different sides of a character, reinforcing the theme of transformation.
  • It also serves to highlight the artificially contrived roles of authority vs subjugation within the colonial system.

Scene Structures and Time Shifts

  • Wertenbaker employs time shifts and variable scene lengths to maintain dynamism and pace.
  • The narrative jumps between viewpoints and momentous events seamlessly, offering a multifaceted perspective on the situation.
  • The juxtaposition of short, intense scenes with longer, reflective scenes serves to heighten dramatic tension and explore thematic depth.

Monologues and Asides

  • Wertenbaker makes regular use of monologues and asides, offering deeper insights into characters’ internal thought processes.
  • These forms allow the audience unique access to character motivations and emotional states.
  • They significantly contribute to the understanding of thematic elements like hope, despair, and personal transformation.

The Use of Song

  • Intermittent use of song serves to emotionally punctuate the narrative.
  • Song provides a vehicle for the convicts’ collective voices and camaraderie, while also highlighting the power of performance.

Symbolism in Form

  • The form in ‘Our Country’s Good’, with its dialogue, double casting, scene structures, monologues, and song contributes to both the immediate impact of the drama and the unfolding of its deeper themes.
  • The performative nature, use of time, and shifts of voice embodied in the form work together to vividly portray the complex and transformative nature of theatre.