Author(s): Timberlake Wertenbaker

Playscript

The basis for Ms. Wertenbaker's play is the novel The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally (author of Schindler's List). The source for both play and novel are the letters and journals of Ralph Clark, Watkin Tench, David Collins, and other First Fleet officers. The characters in this play - convict and officer alike - did indeed exist. The 1789 convict production of Farquhar's The Recruiting Officer, directed by 2nd Lieutenant Ralph Clark, is a matter of historical record. But it is more than that. By the accounts of these First Fleet officers, it is also a remarkable tale of the power that theatre has to transform and humanize - even those whom society considers unredeemable. The severe adversity Ralph and his players overcame to realize the first Australian production of a play is a fascinating chapter in the history of this dawning nation." -- The Colony Theatre Company web site.