The Octagon Theatre Bolton and Out of Joint are pleased to present Our Country’s Good, by Timberlake Wertenbaker.
Australia, 1789. An ambitious young lieutenant, Ralph Clark, is set the task of directing newly arrived convicts in the Restoration comedy The Recruiting Officer in celebration of the King’s birthday. But with a dispirited cast, just two copies of the script, opposition from sadistic officers, a leading lady who faces the gallows, and Ralph’s uncontrollable passion for one of his convict players, Australia’s first theatre production is in trouble from the start.
It is fitting that the Octagon’s 2012-2013 season opens with a play that asserts the value of theatre and its redemptive power. A co-production with the internationally renowned touring company Out of Joint, Our Country’s Good will be directed by Out of Joint’s Artistic Director, Max Stafford-Clark. Max directed the world premiere of Our Country’s Good at the Royal Court Theatre in 1988, then in the West End and on Broadway. It won the Olivier Award for Play of the Year in 1988.
Our Country’s Good will be the Octagon’s third co-production with Out of Joint following the success of World Premiere productions Mixed Up North in 2009 and Bang Bang Bang in 2011. Following the Octagon run, Our Country’s Good will tour to venues across the UK, as well as The Hague (Netherlands), before playing at London’s prestigious new St James Theatre next year.
The cast includes Ian Redford, who played Keith Appleyard for two years in ITV’s Coronation Street, and Damola Adelaja who appeared in Manchester’s Royal Exhange Theatre production of A Raisin in the Son, which won the 2010 Manchester Theatre Award for Best production. They will be joined by Laura Dos Santos who played the lead role in Educating Rita in the West End, and was nominated for Outstanding Newcomer at the 2010 London Evening Standard Awards.
Newsquest Northwest has teamed up with the Octagon Theatre in Bolton to promote their great competition to our readers. Enter now for your chance to win one of three pairs of tickets to see the show on a date of your choice (excluding Saturdays), from September 3 – 22, 2012.
Our Country’s Good is at the Octagon from Monday, September 3 – Saturday, September 22, 2012. Tickets are from £23.50 - £9.50 on 01204 520661 or at www.octagonbolton.co.uk
HOW TO WIN!
To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the following question and email (click here) your answer, together with your name, address and daytime contact telephone number (please mark OUR COUNTRY’S GOOD in your subject line). Closing date is 9.00am on August 21, 2012. Usual Newsquest Northwest rules apply. See competition rules section for details. No purchase necessary.
Question: Which Coronation Street character is Ian Redford famous for playing?
Terms and Conditions:
Newsquest Northwest rules apply. The editor's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Employees of Newsquest Northwest, their families and anyone connected with this competition are not eligible to enter. Usual Newsquest Northwest rules apply. Winners will be notified by email wherever possible and Newsquest Northwest takes no responsibility for unread emails which leads to prizes being untaken. In the unlikely event that a prize event is cancelled, no further prize will be given and there will be no cash alternative. The Octogon Theatre may want to contact you with details of similar events. If you would prefer NOT to hear from them, please state NO DATA in your entry.
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