LET THE SCENERY SPRAWL : For the First Time in Its History, South Coast Repertory Uses Its Entire Theater to Tell a Story

Timberlake Wertenbaker’s “Our Country’s Good” is one of the more atmospheric dramas to reach South Coast Repertory in recent years. It is set in Australia in the late 1700s, when the country was a penal colony. The staging has to convey the hard primitivism of the times and a poetic flavor as well: The story focuses on a handful of prisoners as they produce the first play ever in that new country, finding a measure of personal dignity along the way. Ultimately, “Our Country’s Good” is a parable about the liberating nature of art.

To get the right look, SCR decided to utilize the entire theater--a first for the playhouse. The directors turned to Gerard Howland, a British designer with most of his experience in opera, who let his scenery sprawl beyond the stage; period lanterns were hung from the ceiling and two huge sails were unfurled above the audience.

Howland said his goal was to “fuse the audience with the stage and make it part of the event,” not just in terms of the story but symbolically as well. “I’m hoping it gives everyone a sense of the era, of being close to the essence of the play,” Howland said. “As the British colonized Australia, I’ve taken a little step to colonize SCR in the look of the set.”

Howland, who is making his debut at SCR, was born in West Germany and studied at the English National Opera Theatre Design School. He served as designer for the Royal Academy and the Royal Shakespeare Company in London and was head of design for the Dortmund Opera House in Germany. He has done extensive work for European television, especially the BBC.

Since coming to California in 1989, he has been the associate designer at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and has worked for the San Francisco Opera Company.

“Our Country’s Good” (continuing through Nov. 22) is based on the real story of Australian inmates who staged George Farquhar’s “Recruiting Officer,” a Restoration comedy from 1706. UCI creative writing professor Thomas Keneally described the event in his novel “The Playmaker,” Wertenbaker’s primary inspiration.

At the play’s center is Lt. Ralph Clark, an idealist who sees the drama project as something of a social experiment. Against the protest of other English officers, he forms a motley cast out of thieves, prostitutes and rogues, hoping the experience will bring them a taste of civilization. It does, and Clark receives a bonus when he falls in love with his leading lady.

“It’s a terrific story (from both a) historical and literary perspective,” says Martin Benson, SCR’s artistic director and director of this production. “I think it examines humanity and art, especially the nature of theater.”