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...