Lyric Hammersmith, London
Running time: 2 hrs and 45 mins (inc. interval)
Age Restrictions: This production is recommended for ages 14+.
Tickets from £12.00
“Spewed from our country, forgotten, bound to the dark edge of the earth…”
Thomas Barrett, aged 17. Transported seven years for stealing one ewe sheep.
James Freeman, aged 25. Transported 14 years for assault on a sailor.
Dorothy Handland, aged 82. Stole a Biscuit.
A ship, sailing 15,000 miles to Australia, is crammed with Britain’s convicts – a punishment for their crimes. After a life-threatening voyage they arrive in 1788. But keeping the colony disciplined is a brutal job, and cruelty is rife. To keep the convicts in line and attempt to ‘civilise’ this often desperate, violent, poverty stricken group, a young ambitious lieutenant, Ralph Clark, decides they should perform a play.
With a mostly illiterate cast, rising mistrust amongst the ranks, and the leading actor facing the gallows, this is a one of a kind theatre production…
In this brand new production, Timberlake Wertenbaker revisits her seminal play examining power and justice in the British justice system. Artistic Director Rachel O’Riordan (A Doll’s House, Iphigenia in Splott) directs this Olivier award winning classic based on the extraordinary true story of Australia’s first penal colony. With deportation as punishment more relevant than ever before, Our Country’s Good takes on new meaning in 2024.
Lyric Hammersmith
Lyric Hammersmith
Lyric Square, King St,
London
W6 0QL
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions. It has two main performance areas: the Main House, a 550-seat 19th-century auditorium, rebuilt from the original Frank Matcham-designed theatre, which hosts its main productions; and the 120-seat Studio, which houses smaller productions by up-and-coming companies. The Lyric also presents frequent "Lyric Children" and "Lyric Music" performances as well as "Sunday Night Comedy".
Its current artistic director is Sean Holmes, and its executive director is Jessica Hepburn.
The Lyric is about to go through a major re-development project, with new facilities for young people and the local community.
The Lyric Hammersmith aims to produce work that is provoking, entertaining, popular, eclectic, messy, contradictory and diverse.
We want to be at the heart of our community as well as being internationally recognised. We want to celebrate the unique vision of the writer as well as the creative power of collaboration. We want to work with the best theatre artists around as well as encourage the next generation. We want to lurch wildly between high art and populism - hopefully achieving both at the same time.
Beautiful theatre, cheap tickets, great pizza and a rooftop garden.
Hammersmith and proud.
The Lyric Hammersmith is a 20-minute tube ride from Central London and easily accessible by car and by bus. We are a two-minute walk from the tube and bus stations. The entrance to the Lyric, opposite the fountains on Lyric Square, is ground level with lift access inside to all floors.
Travel by train: Nearest tube: Hammersmith
