Q of the D
I have begun rehearsals on a play that deals with the power of theater, Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good. From time to time I’m going to post snippets of it here.
Today I post from Captain Tench, RM, who doesn’t approve in general, and might not even approve even if the foundations of society had been laid. They are in what is to become Sydney, and rations are short and society barely exists.
My dear Ralph, a bunch of convicts making fools of themselves, mouthing words written no doubt by some London Ass, will hardly change our society. … I would simply say that if you want to build a civilisation there are more important things than a play. If you want to teach the convicts something, teach them to farm, to build houses, teach them a sense of respect for property, teach them thrift so they don’t eat a week’s rations in one night, but above all, teach them how to work, not how to sit around laughing at a comedy. … Are you saying Rome would not have fallen if the theatre had been better?
Posted by Kevin Ashworth at July 27, 2005 12:42 PM
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