Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...Perhaps best of all is Eileen Niccolai as the illiterate and rage-filled Liz Morden, whose refusal to speak in her own defense when accused of theft puts her at risk of hanging. Tiny in physique, Niccolai and her performance looms large in conscience and truth. Even those skeptical of the underlying argument in "Our Country's Good" - theater has the power to expose and transform even the most desperate of lives - will probably find themselves rooting for Niccolai's mighty mite and her ragtag comrades by the end of the show."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Director Roger Smart drags things out for two and a half hours in this talky Shattered Globe production, yet he creates credible stage worlds only in fleeting moments. The cast's routinely unintelligible accents span all parts of the British Empire-both real and imaginary-and Smart's tropical-beachfront set makes it seem like a community theater production of South Pacific should break out any minute."
Gapers Block - Somewhat Recommended
"...Wertenbaker uses the play-within-a-play concept to create community within the world of prisoners and others who populate the newly settled colony. "A play within a play" is an ancient dramatist's device for conveying a message or providing a vehicle for dramatic action. Famously, Shakespeare's Hamlet asks the traveling players to perform "The Murder of Gonzago" to confront his mother and uncle with his suspicions about the murder of his father. Shakespeare also used the concept in Midsummer Night's Dream. Possibly the first use of the play-within-a-play is in Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy of about 1587."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Wertenbaker's think piece oscillates between commentary on theatrical tropes (double casting, Brechtian historical distancing) and play-within-a-play hijinks. As an illiterate, venomous outcast starved for an outlet for self-expression and comradery, Eileen Niccolai is a standout in both realms. Smart's production overall, though, seems more at home in chatty, dramaturgical question-and-answer scenes than in the human dramas driving them."
ShowBizChicago - Recommended
"...However, “Our Country’s Good” is a decent show by the group that recently put on one of my favorite productions of 2013, “Other People’s Money.” While I preferred that latter, the former is still worth a trip to Theatre Wit at 1229 W. Belmont."
Chicago On the Aisle - Recommended
"...On the surface, a play about 18th-century British scofflaws creating a play while imprisoned in the distant wilds of Australia might seem, well, remote – and too likely to harangue on the morally transformative powers of theater. Suspend your disbelief. “Our Country’s Good,” by British playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker, explores such a premise in crackling drama that’s raw, funny, sober, persuasive and brought off with disarming humanity by the fine ensemble of Shattered Globe Theatre. "
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...The production allowed the players to assume several roles yet the over authentic accents made some hard to understand. The tendency to over act some roles also hurt the production. These contradictory tones and the exhaustive two and a half hour length wore me out. While there were some terrific performances (Stephen Peebles in particular), the manic takes on many of the characters sent mixed messages. The commitment of the entire cast was evident; it's the contradictory tone that troubled me. It's the play that I question yet the production was nicely done."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...Although this production could sometimes use smoother transitions between scenes (partly a problem in the script itself), there is much to recommend in Shattered Globe's production. The story is fascinating; its themes frighteningly relevant even today; and Roger Smart's production captures all the immediacy and emotion of Ms. Wertenbaker's script. The regenerative power of drama told in a story that transports both characters and audience leaving everyone all the better for the journey: this is the "Good" found in this "Country.""
The Fourth Walsh - Recommended
"...The play is smart. Smart makes it playful. In many of the rehearsal scenes, the pretend actors speak right to the audience. They hint at our lack of attention span and intelligence for complicated plots. It's funny. The over-the-top Kevin Viol (Sideway) brings a slapstick element that garners plenty of laughs. In a dual role, Ben Werling (Ross/Arscott) brilliantly contrasts buffoonery and brutality. As a the actor/prisoner, Werling is hysterical. As a corrupt officer, Werling is horrific... but in an essential way. Although Werling sharply transitions from comedy to drama, not all the cast are as effective in both mediums. Whereas the comedic elements of the show snap and crackle, the drama tends to drag."
