Our Country's Good Context
Historical/Social context - Punishment before transportation?
-Punishment and Deterrence were the main purposes of this justice system
-Punishment publicly held outside of Newgate Prison
-From 1783 public hangings occurred - using the method of removing the platform
-They made over 200 crimes capital offences, ie punishable by death. These changes were known as the Criminal or
Bloody Code
-Humanitarians thought that it was a good opportunity to reform criminals.
Historical/Social context - Transportation?
-11 British ships sailed from Britain to Australia (Botany Bay) in just over 8 months and 24,000 kilometeres
-This penal colony was advocated by Sir Joseph Banks and Lord Sandwich
-America had become independent from Britain in 1776, which meant convicts could no longer be sent to America
-48 died on the journey
-The convicts had committed a variety of crimes, including theft, perjury, fraud, assault, robbery etc
Historical/Social Context - conditions?
-Botany Bay was shallow, with no freshwater systems either which led Phillip to find Port Jackson (renamed Sydney Harbour)
-Onboard hulks (old warships on the River Thames) there was overcrowding and conditions were terrible. Prisoners suffered from dysentery and typhus.
-British ratepayers disliked the fact that they had to support the families of the convicts who were left behind.
Historical/Social context - British society?
-Before the 1700s Columbus used celestial navigation, which is using the moon, sun, and stars to determine your position this inspired the pioneering of 1702 all through the 18th Century and these men became some of the most prestigious of society
-George III came to the throne in 1751
-He issued a tax increase therefore the impoverished population increased
-The upper class were the royal family and the Hereditary Peers (viscounts, earls etc)
Gin Lane?
-infanticide, starvation, madness, decay, and suicide, while Beer Street depicts industry, health and bonhomie
-The water was infested with cholera, so it was more accessible to ferment liquid to gin and alcoholic substances
-1751, drawn by William Hogarth
The Age of Enlightenment?
-An intellectual and philosophical movement
-Introduces political ideals such as natural law, liberty, and progress, constitutional government, and the formal separation of church and state
-17th to the 18th century
Key Themes
1) Punishment and Rehabilitation
2)Theater, Liberation and Unity
3)Love, Sex and Power
4)Governance and Justice
5)Guilt, Regret and Forgiveness
Key moments of Injustice
-Sideway being flogged
-Liz being falsely convicted
-Arscott receiving 100 lashes
-Meg's only appearance
Key moments of power
-Tench and Ross neglecting the idea of the play whilst Phillip mediates
-Ralph collating everyone for a rehearsal of the play
-Duckling's power over Harry
-The power of guilt over Harry as he sees Handy Baker after hanging him
-The prisoners being disciplined by those in power
Wertenbaker Context?
.(1976-77) Wertenbaker begins to experiment with playwrighting
.(1978)First of her plays shown at Kings Head Theatre in London
.(1983) involved in Shared Experience Theatre Company
.(1988) First produced Our Country's Good at The Royal Court
.Continued creating plays through 1966 to 2017
Max Stafford-Clark Context?
.Born in 1941
.Uses the method of actioning - allocating action or intention to eacg line of a script
.Within this method there is a thorough use of transitive verbs (a verb done to someone else)
.Every character is trying to get what they want onstage and this is dmeonstrated through actioning
.Used in plays like Duck and common movies like The Irishman
Dramatic devices used?
Languages for each haracter, Structure of 22 scenes, Casting, Scenography.
What were hangable offences in the 18th Century justice system?
MURDER
ATTEMPTED MURDER
COINING - alteration of coins
ANIMAL THEFT
ARSON
BURGLARY or ROBBERY
FORGERY - imitation of a document
PERJURY - lying, misrepresenting
SODOMY - anal and oral sex
What were the fundamental values of 18th century Britain?
In the 18th century, British values revolved around individual liberty, the rule of law, democracy, and mutual respect.