Our Country's Good- Directing Act 1 Scene 9

As a director, discuss how you would stage the following extract from ‘Our Country’s Good’ in order to bring out your interpretation of it for an audience. Wertenbaker’s play Our Country’s Good aimed to push the boundaries of theatre and deliver a political message as potent now as it was in the 80’s when the play was written. Thatcher was in power in the 1980’s and it was her attempt to abolish the arts that ironically inspired a huge swell in the writing of many political plays which drew attention to the dire situation Thatcher was leading Britain into. The main message Wertenbaker aimed to convey was the redemptive power of the arts, highlighting their ability to heal even the most broken society, like that of Botany Bay in 1789, or even perhaps Thatcherite Britain? Despite Thatcher’s rule having ended, even today with Gove’s talk of introducing the English baccalaureate into schools as a replacement for GCSE’s, it is arguable that the message has no less meaning now than it did then. When directing Act one Scene 9 of the play Our Country’s Good I would intend for Wertenbaker’s original message came across clearly for an audience, however this is more difficult in this scene than in others. There is a much stronger focus on the individual characters of Ketch and Ralph in this scene that on ‘the play’ therefore displaying the redemptive power of the arts will be one of a few various dramatic intentions. For example I would intend for the audience to feel a sense of discomfort at witnessing what is being revealed in Ralph’s tent, both with regards Ralphs disjointed stream of consciousness talking about his “Betsy Alicia” and Ketch’s disorderly, sometimes contradictory rant about his past. I would want this awkwardness to at some points create an eerie atmosphere on stage, but also later become a tool for comedic purposes. I’d also like to depict clearly the contrast in the personalities of the two men and therefore help to highlight the plays positive