A Few Good Men marked playwright Aaron Sorkin’s Broadway debut in 1989. He later adapted it for the screen in the 1992 film starring Tom Cruise, Demi Moore and Jack Nicholson. Inspired by real events that took place at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, it follows a team of young military lawyers defending two US Marines court-martialled for killing another member of their unit.

In trying to prove the men were following orders, they unearth codes, conspiracy and cultural rot within the corps, leading back to the looming figure and unquestionable authority of Lt. Col. Nathan Jessep.

Queensland Theatre Company’s A Few Good Men. Photo © Stephen Henry

The monumental set, designed by Simone Romaniuk, stretches upward into the roof and outward into the orchestra pit, evoking cavernous institutional buildings and war memorials as well as the open spaces of a military base. Large, pale tiles suggest a chessboard, and both the lawyers and audience face the bench, implying the audience is the jury (and the courtroom a space for performance).

Costuming varies between fatigues, service dress and other uniforms, as well as civilian clothing of the era.

Composition and sound design by Mike Willmett use soft background noise that occasionally distracts more than it adds, but ‘jody calls’ in different tones and volumes, paired with shifting formations of actors, create dynamic and exciting scene transitions. Sound mixing from the headset microphones lacks clarity in the first half of the opening-night performance but is largely resolved by the second, which is crucial to ensuring the impact of the rapid-fire cross-examinations.

Lighting design by Ben Hughes adds further harsh structure to the setting, illuminating paths for the characters and boxing them into shrinking rooms without walls. An overhead lighting grid adds vivid colour and a pulsing sense of movement. Soldiers march and stand, silhouetted against bright backlighting, between pillars that rise and shift.

Fight, choreography and intimacy direction by Nigel Poulton builds the physical language of the Marines and creates movement sequences that emulate Sorkin’s signature “walk-and-talk” exposition, maintaining momentum.

Chris Alosio, Hayden Spencer and Jimi Bani in Queensland Theatre Company’s A Few Good Men. Photo © Stephen Henry

Directed by QTC’s Daniel Evans, A Few Good Men features a cast of 13 (with three covers), half of them making their company debuts. American accents are consistent, with voice and dialect coaching by Gabrielle Rogers, and the actors accomplish the precise choreography and Sorkin’s rapid, volleying dialogue.

Jeremiah Wray gives a blistering, standout performance as the fanatical Lt. Jonathan James Kendrick, and Courtney Cavallaro is exceptional as the ambitious and intensely focused investigator Lt. Cmdr. Joanne Galloway.

Donné Ngabo also stands out — sharp and stoic — as Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson, the unit leader accused of murder. Reagan Mannix plays his co-accused, the young and naïve Pfc. Louden Downey. Even seated on the side of the stage for stretches of time, Mannix and Ngabo remain engaged and engaging.

Courtney Cavallaro, Doron Chester and George Pullar in Queensland Theatre Company’s A Few Good Men. Photo © Stephen Henry

George Pullar plays the arrogant and lackadaisical Lt. j.g. Daniel A. Kaffee, his character maturing throughout the play. Pullar’s performances in the courtroom scenes are especially impressive, and his emotional escalation is impeccable.

Hayden Spencer gives an excellent, mercurial Jessep – both thoroughly dislikeable and entirely comprehensible as a product of his environment – and delivers the ubiquitous line (“You can’t handle the truth!”) with aplomb.

Jack Bannister plays opposing counsel Lt. Jack Ross, and Hugh Parker gives an emotional performance as Capt. Matthew A. Markinson, although Parker remains loose-limbed beside the rigid physicality of his colleagues.

The rising tension of the narrative is mitigated by moments of humour. These are often delivered with sarcasm and precise comedic timing by Doron Chester as Lt. j.g. Sam Weinberg, or with an exasperated expression by Jimi Bani as Capt. Julius Alexander Randolph, presiding over the case from the judge’s bench. Sami Afuni, Chris Alosio and Todd MacDonald round out the cast in multiple minor roles.

Combining timeless themes of honour, morality and power with the tension and twists of a legal drama, A Few Good Men is a momentous achievement and ends Queensland Theatre Company’s 2025 season on a high note.

A Few Good Men is at the Playhouse, QPAC until 7 December.