OAKVILLE director Chris Green said he ``must have been mad'' to tackle his latest production, but says he is ``over the moon'' with the finished product.
Our Country's Good now at the Richmond School of Arts deals with a sensitive matter, has a large cast, and needs many different sets and complex costumes.
The production, by Timberlake Wertenbaker, tells the story of the first play presented by convicts sent to Australia in the late 1780s as part of its first penal colony.
Previously involved with productions at the Pavilion Theatre in Castle Hill, Green said he had to ``revamp'' the way the play was done to make sure it suited Richmond Players' budget, but he couldn't be happier with the results.
``It's an enormous production for community theatre because it required so many different sets,'' he said. ``We ended up creating different levels on the same stage to show scenes in a bush setting or a camp fire.
``The audience and their imagination play a huge part in what we're presenting''.
Green, 64, said watching it was like being on an emotional roller-coaster in the way it showed the brutality early convicts suffered.
``There are massive highs and lows,'' he said. ``People will laugh till they cry but they will also be shocked by the barbarity of it because it shows a part of history that most Australians don't know existed.''
Our Country's Good is on at the Richmond School of Arts (26 West Market Street) on August 21, 22 and 28 at various times. Tickets cost $12-$15 and are available from Oze Pharmacy in Richmond.
Details: 45796053.
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