Madness, love & transformation

Everyone goes mad in their own particular way. Nowra thinks madness is too generalised, and it is based on each individuals past and experiences etc.

At the end of the play, Lewis is no longer afraid of madness. Lewis is thoroughly transformed by the patients. Nowra uses a mixture of laughter and madness, which is a volatile mixture. We usually see madness as dark
and scary, so we can keep it in a corner and ignore it. When he adds humour to it, then we begin to be
able to relate to it, they share similar emotions. Scary.

Lewis has to face various hurdles throughout the play. He suffers from a lack of gumption at first. His
major hurdle is Henry. Lewis realises that he has got to get Henry to stay. Through rehearsing he is
falling in love with the patients.

Every scene is a hurdle. Each time he learns to love the patients as individuals. He goes on what is
called a character arc (complete change). It is a ‘fish out of water’ story. Lewis is thrust into another
world to transform him. Often, when someone doesn’t have a family or friends etc, due to a
dysfunctional past etc whatever (in Lewis’ case his relationship with Nick and Lucy is going downhill)
he then makes the patients his family, he finds a new sense of reality with them.

Vietnam War is what Lewis believes in at first. But he will agree with anyone at the start, so long as it
keeps the peace. Mozart may seem an insignificant detail to the play, but that’s the point. To Lewis,
how you can love becomes more important than politics etc, i.e. it’s the little things that count etc
(Hence Mozart’s music, just a simple beauty).

When Lewis enters the asylum it is like an island (thrust into another world). The patients don’t even
know there is a war going on. Lewis is transformed by his experience. How it works is that you stick
people on this island, and watch how they change. They are forced to face their demons because they
can’t get off the island.

Cosi character quotes

Memorise quotes for your SAC. Here are some to get you started.

LEWIS
“I need the money, Lucy” (p 1)
“Do you think we should be doing something like this? ... In these days, you know, the Vietnam war?” (p 9)
“I mean about the theme. Love is not so important these days.” (p 10)
“Why can’t I ever say no? Just leave. They’re mad. It’s madness...”.
‘This is an unusual position for me ... I directed some plays atuniversity ... and, well ... this is my first year out …’.
Julie: ‘They still scare you?’
Lewis: ‘It’s not so bad. My grandmother went mad. I went once to the asylum to see her. In her mind she was living in the year before I was born. She thought I was Eric, my father. And he had just married mum and she was about to have me’.
Julie: Don’t ever tell a psychiatrist that story, they’d have a heart attack on the symbolism of it all’.

‘We’re agreed. We don’t want to see Australian soldiers die in meaningless war.’ (page 48)
‘Mozart. I’m not going to let them down’.
‘There was no next year. This theatre mysteriously burnt down a week after the performance and Doug was the major suspect’. (page 89)

DOUG
Doug: Women like to pretend they don’t play around but they’re just more secretive about it. (p18)
Doug: You can always find loneliness in a marriage, but never solitude.”

Cherry: [to Doug] Go burn a cat.
[she exits]
Lewis: Why are they always saying that?
Doug: That's what I did.
Lewis: Burned a cat?
Doug: No, CATS. See mum had five cats, and me and mum we'd been having some... differences. So one night I rounded 'em up, put 'em in a cage, doused 'em with petrol and put a match to 'em!
[Lewis chuckles, thinking it's a joke. Doug grins and laughs]
Doug: Heh-heh! Funny, eh?
[He sits next to Lewis]
Doug: Then, I opened up the cage door and I let 'em run loose. Welllll, what a racket. They were runnin' round the backyard, burnin' and howlin'.
[He gives a psychotic little laugh]
Doug: No such thing as grace under pressure for a burning cat, lemme tell ya. Then, me mum came outside to see what was happenin'? Darn near freaked out she did. See, I figured I'd wait a couple of hours till the cats were dead and mum was feeling a bit sorry for herself, and I'd go up to the front door and I'd knock on it and I'd say, "Hi, Mum! I'm here to talk about our unresolved conflicts."
Doug: But oh no, One of those FUCKING cats ran into the house; a couple of minutes the whole bloody house was on fire. Within half an hour there was no front door to knock on.
Doug: Yeah, if it wasn't for that damn cat, I wouldn't be in here.


ROY

Roy: We're going to do "Cosi Fan Tutte", the opera.
Doug: What, Little Richard wrote an opera? Tutti Fruiti the opera?
Roy: It's an opera by Mozart, you low life.

'Couldn't direct a nymphomaniac to a stag night.'
'I know you can take criticism Jerry, because you must get a lot of it!'
‘My mother played the music to me over and over. You can count the productions of it on one finger in Australia. Well, none probably. I haven’t seen any. We’ll be making history. Australian history. We’ll bring culture to this place. You know what culture is for most Australians, Jerry? It’s the stuff that grows on stale cheddar’.
‘It’s all in my head. Without this, the world wouldn’t be the same. It would break, like a voice in despair shattering glass. There is the harmony of the spheres and that harmony is Mozart’s music. Cosi Fan Tutte. Without this opera having been composed, there would be just a clanging, banging, a bedlam all around us’.
“It’s never happened to me before.” (p75)
‘Love is what you feel when you don’t have enough emotion left to hate.’ (page 61)
‘A world that was like my childhood: tea parties, dances in our ballroom, circus performers coming to perform just for me’. (page 64)

CHERRY
Cherry: Will outsiders see the show?
Lewis: Don't know.

Cherry: If it's a real large role, I'll invite my dad. He'll be surprised to see me out of water.
[Lewis just looks at her]
Cherry: My dad was a great duck hunter. But we were very poor and couldn't afford a dog, so... He used to get me to point and fetch the ducks.
[pause]
Cherry: Those lakes can get pretty cold when you're swimmin' in 'em with a dead duck in your mouth.
[Lewis gapes]
Cherry: Haa! Just pullin' your leg!
“It was me! It was me!” (p23)
Cherry comments to Julie that Roy is performing a “Do it yourself lobotomy” (p27)

JUSTIN
‘Up to you. A panto? Excerpts from Shakespeare. Whatever you like. The important thing is to keep them interested. To bring them out of their shells. Give them something interesting to do’.
“The experiment is over” (p22)
“Now the position of a social worker in an asylum can be precarious. This does not look good for me or for you, does it?” (p23)
“Sorry is such an easy word to say.” (p23)
“Straight out of university...” (p24)
‘This experiment was to bring them out of their shells, not to allow them to wreak havoc. Now the position of a social worker in an asylum can be precarious. This doesn’t look good for me or for you, does it?’

JULIE
‘Drugs make me feel sort of living ... Especially junk ... Some people can’t imagine life without love, well I can’t imagine life without junk’.
‘What would you do Lewis? Would you hit him? Like Dorabella and Fiordiligi, it’s just easy for a woman to fall in love as it is for a man.’
‘I had to go and see one of the shrinks. They don’t know how to deal with drug users. He called it a ‘crutch’, I said it was a ‘rocket to the stars’. Needless to say we didn’t get on’.

RUTH
‘Learnt my lines. I’m word perfect. Go on, test me...Any place, any time. I know what I’m doing and everyone else. Test me’.

NICK
‘Barricades and bombs? Why not? Australians, especially young Australians of my age, are getting fed up with our society. We want changes and we want them now.’(17)
‘You’ve become a right wing nut, haven’t you? You belong here ... They’re coming to take me away, ha, ha, to the funny farm’.
‘Christ, you’ll never be a director until you can convince them that what you want to do is what they want to do’.
‘It means that these people, even the middle class will be radicalised by seeing how any of us are against them. They’ll know that to be against the Vietnam war is also to be against the old fossilised government we now have’.
‘That’s it, I’m not putting up with this right wing crap ... Not only are they nuts, but they’re right wing nuts’.

LUCY

‘How to understand how capitalism exploits the working class is important. How to stop the war in Vietnam is important. How to make a piece of theatre meaningful and intelligent, like Brecht does, is important. After bread, a shelter, equality, health, procreation, money comes maybe love...Love is an emotional indulgence for the privileged few’.
‘Working with these people has changed you. We used to talk about things. Important things. Now all you can talk about is reactionary drivel like Cosi Fan Tutte’.
‘I have sex with him and sleep with you’
‘I’ve come to pick you up and take you to the Galileo rehearsals’.
‘You sound like someone out of a farce’.
‘Don’t quote that fuckin’ opera at me!’

Idealism versus Conservatism

Cosi marked a turn by Louis Nowra to more personal, autobiographical material, and the turn from the social to the individual is evident in the play itself. Through the use of psychiatric patients in the play, Nowra presents a rebellion against social norms. In terms of the play, however, this entails a rebellion more against “politically correct” attitudes than against conservative notions. This is reinforced by their juxtaposition against Nick and Lucy, Marxists whose concerns with social change and justice are undermined as the play progresses, reinforcing Lewis’s preference for the more “universal”—read, bourgeois individualist—concerns of the opera being presented. The play functions to some extent as a validation of the conservative rejection of socialist ideals.

Cosi tells the story of Lewis, a young university graduate who takes a job working with the patients at a mental institution. They aim to put on the opera Cosi fan Tutte by Mozart. Much of the play’s humour lies in the eccentricities of the various inmates who, Gilbert argues, function along quite conservative lines, presenting “politically incorrect” attitudes without provoking any sense of guilt: “Doug, for instance, can give voice to the aggressive misogyny [. . .] because Doug, like the other inmates, performs the dramatic function of a licensed clown who gives audiences permission to laugh without demanding any corrective action” (“Theatre and Cultural Commerce: Louis Nowra's Cosi” 193). These characters reinforce by their madness acceptable guidelines of behaviour: “On a slightly different level, Cosi’s comedy can also be made to function as part of the required moral instruction since the inmates’ uproarious antics often highlight the boundaries between what is acceptable behaviour and what is not” (197). Despite this caveat, though, the “mad” characters in the play, while not romanticised, are perhaps the most sympathetic characters in that, as Thomson argues “The mental patients are certainly damaged, but they have at least dispensed with hypocrisy” (177).

In contrast to the asylum patients are Lewis’s university friend Nick and his girlfriend Lucy. Both of them are Marxists, and have little time for Lewis’s opera:

“You know, Marx thought Mozart was a reactionary shit” (Cosi 14). Nick and Lucy represent desire for change: “Barricades and bombs. Why not? Australians, especially young Australians of my age are getting fed up with our society. We want changes and we want them now!” (18). They place broader, societal concerns over personal ones:

How to understand how capitalism exploits the working class is important. How to stop the war in Vietnam is important. How to make a piece of theatre meaningful is important. After bread, a shelter, equality, health, procreation, money, comes maybe love. Do you think the starving masses of Africa or a Vietnamese peasant thinks about love? Love is an emotional indulgence for the privileged few. (50)

In contrast, Lewis is cynical about major change, viewing it as contrary to Australian character: “The French always believed their own rhetoric, Australians are suspicious of rhetoric” (50). He becomes increasingly focussed on the more “private” concerns of the opera: “It’s about important things like love and fidelity” (50), concerns whose claims to “universality” are to an extent emphasised in the play by their reflections in Lewis’s own life.

Beyond this reflection, the argument is loaded by Nick’s increasingly obvious insensitivity; he mocks Henry’s father’s war medals callously and is uncaring towards the mental patients on the whole, singing “They’re coming to take me away, ha ha, to the funny farm” (41, 69) at inopportune moments. Lucy’s social responsibility is also undermined by her personal infidelities (63). The result is that, as Jim Davidson writes, “Left-wing language has been reduced to Williamsonian simplistics, while Lewis’s girlfriend scarcely provides a feminist perspective” (49).

The Marxists are revealed to be insensitive and selfish, their postulating, as the right would argue, an ideological “mask”. The rebellion of the seventies is rewritten. In Cosi it is Lewis who is the rebel, shaking off the fashionable beliefs of his companions. And it is his “reality”, not their “ideology” that is ultimately validated: “The cynical and ideologically unsound opera about female infidelity, derided as reactionary and irrelevant by the political activists Nick and Lucy, actually mirrors real life with perfect accuracy” (H. Thomson, 177). It could be argued that at least part of the reason for Cosi’s popularity lies in the fact that it taps into discussions about “ideology” versus “reality”, the political versus the personal, the social versus the universal, and the cynicism towards Marxism and feminism which were increasingly part of the discourse of the right in an increasingly conservative Australian political climate.

Despite some comments on the initial production’s length, critical reception was overwhelmingly positive. Russell Walsh described the play as “characterised by a total lack of either aesthetic or ideological pretension”(43). Alison Cotes wrote that “The audience’s initial politically correct reaction-- ‘Is it proper to laugh at mental illness?’-- is soon shown to be small-minded, because the loonies are the ones with the real insights, and it is they who teach their director Lewis, with his half-baked, fresh-from-university idealism, the value of love”(59). Kate Herbert, similarly, wrote that Lewis chose the inmates over his student friends because “At least they are honest loonies”(43). Amanda Ball similarly endorsed the play’s priorities: “They have a war to stop-- he has a play to perform. It is a tribute to the success of Nowra’s highly personal script that we feel he is the one whose priorities are in order”(60). All of these comments appear to endorse the play’s conservative choice of personal over social values. Helen Thomson and Rosemary Neill were more critical of the play’s subplot, although the former still reviewed the play positively (42; 40). Murray Bramwell was the critic most savage on the play’s politics, writing that

Making the staging of the play in 1970 so significant that Lewis has to choose between directing the production or joining the National Vietnam Moratorium march creates what is known in show business as a false dichotomy. I have no trouble believing that Nowra’s student chum was an unpleasant shit but to make him the identikit radical-- directing Brecht, caddishly seducing Lewis’s girlfriend, deriding the gentle humanism of the theatre project-- is reductionist and gratuitous. This is not a benign view of the past, it is a falsification. (“Noises Off” 46)

Cosi aptly demonstrates the growing cynicism toward social change and an outward-looking rather than inward-looking compassion. The play undercuts the arguments of the play’s socialist-leaning characters by presenting them as unsympathetic in comparison to Lewis and the “politically incorrect” inmates, and reinforces the more private, self-centric values of the opera, such as “love” and “fidelity” as more genuine and “real” than “ideological” social concerns.
 
From: Facing Reality: Idealism versus Conservatism in Australian Theatre and Politics at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century. PhD Dissertation Ben Payne, BA (Hons).

Cosi mid-range essay

The following student example is a mid-range response from the 2010 Assessment Report.


‘Cosi is more than an entertaining comedy. It reveals the sadness of the lives of the characters.’

Discuss.

Throught the play Cosi the audience witnesses the lives of mentally ill people unfold before them. Louis Nowra has used black comedy within Cosi to allow the audience to abandon their pre-conceptions of ‘mad’ people and to see the characters not for their illness but for their personality. Because of this the audience is able to relate to each character and their situation and realise the underlying sadness of the patients lives. We are confronted by their pasts as we come to realise the causes for their illnesses; like with Roy as we learn of his childhood, abandoned by his mother and growing up in orphanages. Cosi also reveals the sadness within the lives of those who society considers ‘sain’ as the audience is treated to the life of the protagonist Lewis
Riley and the struggles and dependence he faces.

The truth of Roy’s life is one of the most shocking revelations to the audience as he often puts on a outgoing happy façade. With his vibrently outgoing personality Roy becomes one of the central figures of the play. He influences Lewis into directing the Italian opera ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’ and captivates Lewis with tales of music and performance from his childhood. This illusion that Roy casts over Lewis, and the audience alike, is seen for what it truely is as we learn that the stories were all lies and what Roy never new his mother. ‘I had a dream, Jerry.’ This quote from Roy reveals Roy’s sadness as audience has an epiphany that Roy’s tales of music and performance, along with his desire to performer ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’, are his way of trying to escape the sadness of his life spent unloved within orphanages and the asylum.

We witness similar sadness in the life of one of the other patients, Ruth. The audience first sees Ruth as being obsessive compulsive with a need for control over her life. Ruth’s behaviour is very methodical and she finds trouble gasping the concept of illusion as it isn’t something that she is able to control. During the scene in Cosi where the power goes out Ruth tells the story of her abusive ex-love who would lock her in the cupboard for extended periods of time. This story reveals Ruth’s sadness and the cause for her disorder as the aroma of not being in control of her life and being helpless against her ex-lover has scared her into having an obsession for control in her life. From this point within the play the audience feels sympathy for Ruth as they understand her sadness.

Along with the patients of the asylum we also come to realize the sadness with the life of the protagonist Lewis Riley. We first encounter Lewis as a university drop-out who takes the directing job at the asylum. Lewis ‘lacks direction…in life and only takes the job’ for the money. During the scene where Lewis’ friend Nick comes to help direct is where the audience truely comes to realise the sadness with Lewis’ life as the audience realises that Lewis’ beliefs and values are not genuine and dirive from his dependence on his girlfriend Lucy and Nick. We see his political views, views on love and fidelity and whats important in life are
just mimicing Nick and Lucy’s, which shows the sadness of Lewis’ lack of self and dependence on others. Lewis does redeem himself by the end of the play by finding happiness that he lacked before and finding his identity.

Cosi is more than a comedy. It draws the audience in as they become immersed in the lives of the cast. The revelation of the sadness felt by the characters helps to deepen our connection as we relate to them and see them as imperfect humans life ourselves.

Assessor comments

• A competent essay which provides an accurate response to the topic, dealing in a sometimes superficial way with its main concerns.

• The piece is organised around a discussion of the sadness felt by some of the characters: an approach which is appropriate, but which also results in a somewhat narrow selection of evidence from the play.

• The student shows adequate knowledge of the text through some pertinent description of key events and some close referencing via quotes.

• The student’s expression is generally fluent, although it is marked by slips in spelling and punctuation.

Cosi Revision Quiz

SECTION ONE: WHO SAID THAT?

1. Love is what you feel when you don’t have enough emotion left to hate.

2.The most important thing is to feel you are in control, but still at the same time listening. Are you listening, do you feel you are in control?

3. Barricades and bombs? Why not? Australians, especially young Australians of my age, are getting fed up with our society. We want changes and we want them now!

4. They are normal people who have done extraordinary things, thought extraordinary thoughts.

5. Yes, the more real it is, the more real it is.

6. This Cosi condones the cccorruption of innocence. Women are told to be tramps. Free love. Women are not to be trusted.

7. Couldn’t direct traffic down a one way street.

8. Eat! Get some flesh on your bones.

9. You’re not deaf are you? The last thing we want is a deaf director. So what district? Suburb? Locale?

10. Women are God’s punishment for men playing with themselves.

11. I had to go and see one of the shrinks. They don’t know how to deal with drug users. He called it a ‘crutch’, I said it was a ‘rocket to the stars’. Needless to say, we didn’t get on.

12. I have sex with him and sleep with you.

13. I dropped a ciggie down the toilet.

14. Marvellous. Just marvellous, Lewis….And the cast! Didn’t think it was possible. Came right out of their shells. They blossomed. Blossomed!

15. Its about important things – like love and fidelity.

16. Without this, the world wouldn’t be the same. It would break, like a voice in despair shattering glass.



SECTION TWO: KNOW YOUR FACTS

1. Which character was tied up and locked in a cupboard by her ex-boyfriend?

2. Where is the play set? Be specific, and explain the symbolic significance of the setting.

3. Which opera is performed by the cast, and who is it by?

4. Why is Doug institutionalized?

5. Describe Henry’s view of his parents and what they were like.

6. Describe Nick and his relationship to both Lucy and Lewis.

7. List as many different view of love as you can – think of the views of various characters.

8. Who changes the most in the play? Give reasons for your answer.

9. Give a brief summary of the plot of the opera.

10. Lewis tells us the fate of the characters in the play. List as many as you can remember.

Cosi Love Essay

“Love is not so important nowadays.”

‘Cosi is a play about the importance of love and fidelity regardless of time and place.’ Do you agree?


To get you started

Circle the key words – write definitions (dictionary) or synonyms (Thesaurus) for these words.

Make the prompt as simple as possible, what am I being asked to agree/disagree with?

Draw a continuum, put agree at one end, disagree at the other. Mark in each character on the continuum. Now mark in your view on the continuum.



Introduction- There are four things that should occur in your introduction, they are

• Mention the text/author or a character (You are actually familiar with the text)

• Reword the statement/question , use alternate words for a concept or use an aspect of a concept e.g. Love, you might use ‘trust’ as this is an aspect of love.

• Show your point of view clearly. (How much you agree/disagree.)

• Signpost aspects of the topic that you will discuss in the following paragraphs.

(These four things don’t have to happen in this order.)

Possible introduction:

Lewis’s uncertain assertion about the importance of love early in the play Cosi, does not completely convince himself, nor the audience. We see Lewis’s loyalty and commitment tested in the rapidly changing society of 1970s Australia, and this theme is played out with its misunderstandings, pain and humour in 18th century Naples. Lewis comes to understand the value of honesty and warmth in his growing attachment to his cast and realises his values aren’t shared by Lucy and Nick.


Following paragraphs. Look back at your notes, which quotes draw attention to the issues being referred to in the statement.? How might you include some of these quotes? Which characters will you discuss?

Your paragraphs must contain the following, you may tinker with the style, but these elements must occur in the paragraph.

Topic sentence – a statement that indicates what the paragraph is about.

Expansion or Explanation of the topic sentence (more information)

Evidence- a quote or incident from the text that backs up what you said in the topic sentence.

Link- Link what you have said to the statement/question or link the sentence to what you are going to talk about in the next paragraph.

This will be referred to as the TEEL structure.

In this type of writing, a paragraph should never have less than four sentences. It may have more than four sentences, but it should never have less.



Possible topic sentences- (They don’t link at all. Use as many or few as necessary. Don’t use any if you wish.)

Fidelety, or loyalty to a person or cause, takes many forms in Cosi.

Love is fine for those who find it, but food in your belly and a roof over your head are of far more immediate importance.

Once Guglielmo and Ferrando take on the challenge of examining virtue, the seeds of mistrust are sown.

Henry ferociously guards his father’s memory, while calling into question the values of his ‘temptress’ wife.

Nick is single minded in his desire to ‘radicalise’ the middle classes of Australia.

Although events occur in different times and places, the human need to love and be loved is unchanging.

Love is the cream on the cake, but not a necessity for survival.

Women and men have been unfaithful to each other since time began and this is not likely to change.

Essay questions

Essay questions for you to practice over the revision period

HOW THE AUTHOR CONSTRUCTS MEANING QUESTIONS

1. ‘The play within the play enables the audience to gain a deeper insight into the plight of the characters.’ To what extent do you agree?
2. ‘Nowra uses comedy to challenge our perceptions about mental illness and what it means to be “normal”.’ Discuss

3. Cosi is a play within a play. How does Nowra use this theatrical device to explore his major themes?

4. How does Nowra use theatrical conventions to explore the ideas of reality and illusion?

CHARACTER QUESTIONS

1. “The patients are merely foils to the character of Lewis – it is his transformation that is the focus of the drama.” Discuss this point of view with reference to scenes and lines from the play.


2. How is the character of Lewis central to Cosi?

3. ‘While Lewis may be the play’s protagonist Roy is undoubtedly its star.’ Discuss.

4. ‘We admire Lewis for the moral stance he takes.’ To what extent do you agree?

5. “Working with these people has changed you.” (Lucy)

Lewis is not the same man as he was the beginning of the play. Discuss.

6. ‘Lewis’ involvement in the play transforms him to a remarkable extent.’ Discuss.

USING A CHARACTER TO ILLUSTRATE A THEME

1. ‘Cosi confirms Justin’s inadvertent insight that these are ‘normal people who have done extraordinary things, thought extraordinary thoughts’.’ Do you agree?


2. ‘The depiction of the politically committed characters in Cosi represents a distorted view of the student movement.’ Do you agree?

3. ‘The characters in Cosi suggest that we are all longing for purpose and intimacy in our lives.’ Discuss.

4. ‘The characters in Cosi are simply “normal people who have done extraordinary things.” To what extent do you agree?

5. Both the characters from the “normal world” and the characters from the asylum are driven by the human need for art. Discuss.

6. What is most extraordinary about the characters in the play is their everyday ordinariness. Discuss.

7. Cosi succeeds because we see the characters as people first and patients second. Discuss.

8. ‘Lewis benefits more from the production of Cosi Fan Tutte than the patients he has been hired to direct.’ Do you agree?

DEMONSTRATING AN UNDERSTANDING OF A KEY THEME/IDEA/VALUE

1. ‘Nowra challenges his audience with their own attitudes to madness and addiction.’ Discuss.


2. ‘Cosi demonstrates that most of our attitudes to mental illness are based in  ignorance.’ Do you agree?

3. ‘Nowra challenges his audience with their own stereotypes about madness and addiction.’ Discuss.

4. ‘Amidst the frivolity of Cosi’s comic episodes is a sombre examination of our treatment of mental illness.’ Discuss.

5. Cosi shows us that ‘fairytale endings’ do not reflect real life. How does Nowra’s play show us the complexity of people’s existence?


6. ‘Cosi shows that the desire for art flourishes in the most unlikely of environments.’ Discuss.

7. ‘Nowra examines how political commitment without human empathy is a hollow project.’ Discuss.

8. ‘Creative fulfilment and the richness of an imaginative life are the most effective forms of therapy.’ Do you agree?

9. Cosi shows us that the theatre has the power to transform lives. To what extent do you agree?

10. Cosi Fan Tutti is essentially a misogynistic opera and this is reflected in the depiction of the women in the play. To what extent do you agree?

11. ‘Cosi presents us with the consequences of ‘unresolved conflicts’. Discuss.

12. ‘This play condemns love as “an emotional indulgence for the privileged few.” Discuss.

13. Louis Nowra’s play Cosi questions the authenticity of love’ Discuss

14. ‘Nowra shows that it is the confinement inherent in institutional life that exacerbates the conditions of patients.’ Discuss.

15. Cosi shows us that there is as much madness in the outside world as there is within a mental institution. Discuss.

16. “Love is not so important nowadays.”

17. ‘Cosi is a play about the importance of love and fidelity regardless of time and place.’ Do you agree?
18. “I can live with illusion as long as I know it’s illusion, but this coffee is not real, is it?”
‘Cosi challenges us to question what is real and what is illusion.’ Discuss.

19. Cosi is a reminder of how vulnerable people are. To what extent do you agree?


20. Cosi demonstrates that only those who are prepared to take risks who achieve success. Discuss

Zac

Name: Zac - mental patient, musician, house painter
Personal qualities: funny, placid on drugs, horny, excitable of drugs, Caught in his own world

Relationships: Zac doesn’t form any relationships due to him either being catatonic, on drugs or hyper active off drugs. This leads him to only have brief momentary conversations only really forming acquaintances and the other cast members. He pursues Ruth for a sexual relationship. Seems oblivious to the inappropriateness of this.

Conflict: Zac’s major conflict is with Ruth when he pulls up her skirt during he blackout and she pushes him over. But he also has conflicts with Roy about the play with the direction of the music, set painting and who wrote the opera.

Motivational goals: Zac is motivated by music and music alone. It is his motivation/direction to continue in the play. His musical aspirations are also shown when he attains minor success with a band.

Zac Key Quotes:
‘I’m prepared to play this pissy score for the whole opera, only if I do the overture my way, or else its exit the pianist.'

‘A lower dosage, it’s amazing how much more bright the world seems.’


‘Hey, let’s have an orgy.’


‘Women. You have to wrap it all up in fancy language and then they swoon for you when all it comes down to it the same thing.’


‘Women are god’s punishment for men playing with themselves.’

by Sarah & Jason

Other things to note about Zac:
Zac is also a source of humour - insisting on an overture by Wagner rather than Mozart - totally irrelevant in the scheme of things. Also his dramatic collapse on stage at the end after taking too many pills to calm his nerves.
Nowra uses this character to criticise the use of inappropriate dosages of  medication in treating mental illness. His whole existence is influenced by how much drugs he has in his system - from catatonic to manic. Note that once he is out of the institution he is able to function normally.

Ruth

DETAILS:
Aged between 30 & 40. Ruth has been in and out of institutions due to her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). She tends to be fixated on the minor details that Lewis seems to overlook. Because of her OCD she doesn’t cope with the idea of illusion and has difficulty comprehending anything other than literal interpretations.

PERSONAL QUALITIES:
A survivor
Resilient
Determined
Controlled
Obsessive
Hopeful
Needy
Dull
Fragile - needs reassurance

RELATIONSHIPS & CONFLICT:
Ruth has not had happy relationships in her life. During the blackout she reveals that her ex-boyfriend used to tie her up and keep her locked up in a wardrobe so as she would run away. She has since then come to the conclusion that he only wanted her for sex. They soon broke up after she slashed his tyres.

Also during the blackout (after revealing her past relationship) Zac feels Ruth up in an attempt to have sex with her. She warns him to stop but he continues with no hesitation after her warnings. She slaps him in the face after persisting, leading to a bloody nose for Zac.

Ruth has not got many friends or friendships which is evident that she more of a solitary figure.

MOTIVATION AND GOALS:
One goal of Ruth’s to finish the play to her best ability, she does not state it directly but it is evident as to how much she thinks about her every move. (even with the (OCD).

EMOTIONAL AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH:

At the end of the play Lewis announces that Ruth left the institution to become a time and motion expert. This shows intellectual growth as it shows she is able to sustain a career and become an expert as well as make her own decisions.

Lewis mentioned nothing about Ruth getting married or having a boyfriend or kids. This may be that she has still not developed emotionally to have a stable relationship.

KEY QUOTES:

“So we’ll pretend” Act1Sc pg10

“…I’m not going to sing a song that is not word perfect.” Act1Sc2 pg13

“I can live with illusion as long as I know it’s illusion” Act1Sc3 pg26

“I can handle something being an illusion or real but not at the same time” Act1Sc3 pg26

“You’re doing a fine job of messing with my head!” Act1Sc3 pg29

“How many steps do you want me to take?... Large or small? Because, if its small, then it could be up to ten, maybe eleven.” Act1Sc3 pg30

“Learnt my lines. I’m word perfect. Go on, test me… Any place, any time. I know what I’m doing and everyone else. Test me.” Act1Sc4 pg38

“Yes, the more real it is, the more real it is” Act2Sc1 pg60

“Comedy is better when it’s real.” Act2Sc1 pg61

“I used to have a boyfriend who tied me up…so I wouldn’t run away. Four knots or maybe it was three.” Act2Sc1 pg66

“He just wanted me for sex. Men like sex more than women because they don’t have to clean up the mess” Act2Sc1 pg66

“I don’t care who you are – stop it!... Touch me again and I’ll make you regret it!” Act2Sc1 pg67

“I hate goodbyes, so when the others come out tell them im waiting outside counting the stars” Act2Sc5 pg85

by Emily, Megan Cassie & Cori

Other things to note about Ruth:
Humour - becomes a time and motion expert once she leaves the institution
Is used by Nowra to explore the theme of illusion and reality

Julie

NAME/DETAILS:
-Julie is in her early 20’s
-Has is a drug addiction
-She is the most ‘normal’ inmate
-Is in a lesbian relationship
-Newest to the ward
-Falls for Lewis
-Has a cynical view on love
-Understands and appreciates the opera
-Dies of a drug overdose

PERSONAL QUALITIES:
-Attractive -Unassuming -Subdued -Passive
-Appealing -Open minded -Surveys -Probing
-Honest -Loyal -Non-judgemental -Opinionative
-Vulnerable -Quiet -Straightforward -Considerate

RELATIONSHIPS
-Still has contact with her family even though they were people who put her in the institution saying “They think it’s sort of a holiday”
-Has a girlfriend
-Falls for Lewis during the play
-Is excluded from the other inmates

CONFLICTS
-Cherry thinks Julie likes Lewis so she becomes very jealous towards Julie. Cherry has a love at first sight relationship with Lewis and is very protective of him. As a result Cherry attempts to stab Julie with her flick knife when she hears fake rumours of them being together.

MOTIVATION/GOALS
-Wants to get out of the asylum
-Persists for the play to go ahead
-Moves to Sydney

EMOTIONAL& INTELLECTUAL GROWTH
-Stays with her girlfriend even though she falls for Lewis, because she feels she needs someone stable in her life


-Gets to leave the asylum to live in the normal world, because they think she has overcome her drug addiction. In the end, she dies of a drug overdose not so long after release somewhere in Sydney, which identifies even though she was sane and got put in a mental institution and was released she ended up no better than the other patients or possibly worse.

JULIE QUOTES

“I had to go and see one of the shrinks. They don’t know how to deal with drug users”
“Rocket to the stars – (referring to drugs)”
“A laugh is as good as a fuck, they say.”
“I would love to hit up right now."
“My parents had me committed; they think it’s sort of a holiday.”
“Doug hates them because he likes to be naturally high all the time. Zac likes them because everything passes like he’s in a dream or limbo.”
“Drugs make me feel sort of living.”
“Some people can’t imagine life without love; well I can’t imagine life without junk.”
“I’d just shot up. Beautiful stuff. Felt like mercury, no finger could hold me down.”
”Hairdresser. I’d do a good job on you now because I’m not on junk.”
“That’s what love is, being foolish.”
“I’ve always thought that love was being foolish and stupid. It’s about being on the edge and I like being on the edge. It’s not divine madness like some people think, there’s no such thing as divine madness, madness is just madness. Love is hallucinating without drugs.”
“That’s what I hate about the wards- they-re never really totally dark.”
“It’s just as easy for women to fall in love as it is for a man.”
“I think I fell for you.”
“I need something stable in my life. I need my girlfriend.”

by Jenna & Lauren

Cherry

Name: Cherry
Details: Aged 25-35, has been institutionalised for quite some time

Personal Qualities:
 Possessive
 Threatening
 Impulsive
 Violent
 Jealous
 Confident
 Courageous
 Competitive
 Alert
 Optimistic
 Buoyant
 Vivacious
 Self confident
 Energetic
 Gossiper

Relationships/conflict
 Between Cherry and Lewis. Cherry is instantly infatuated with Lewis more and more as time goes on. Cherry is desperate for love with Lewis. Cherry wants a relationship with Lewis, however, she treats him in a motherly way.

 Between Doug and Cherry. Is a mutual dislike. She threatens to hurt him several times during the play. Doug treats Cherry much worse than the other mental patients.

 Between Cherry and Julie. Cherry is very jealous towards Julie because Lewis shows Julie more romantic attention compared to Cherry who he is treats in a very appropriate way.


Motivation/goals: Obviously like most of the patients Cherry ultimately wants to leave the asylum but in the mean time Cherry’s motivation to continue doing the play is because she wants to end up with Lewis.


Emotional and intellectual growth: Cherry becomes very loyal towards the play, as well as being loyal to Lewis. At the beginning of the play Cherry only listens to Lewis however at the end of the play she is much bossier and takes instructions into her own hands.

Quotes:
“Why a woman’s heart would soften towards a man.”
“Go burn a cat.”
“Most women fight hard to keep men out of their pants. You may like being foolish, but most women are not.”

by Emily, Megan, Cassie & Cori

Doug

*Aged in his 20’s

*Pyromaniac

Personal Qualities:-Aggressive nature, threatening, dominant, volatile, rude, uncouth, coarse, criticising, disrespectful, frank, intimidating, sexually charged, mischievous, cheeky, rough.

Relationships:Doug has an unresolved problem with his mother, which makes for a poor relationship. He feels his ego has taken a severe battering from is mother, because, despite his age, she still treats him like a child. He felt he had to stand up to his mother to resolve the conflict.

Conflict:
Doug and his mother clearly didn’t get along. He was told by a doctor he had to resolve the conflict with his mother. He felt it necessary to do so by paying her back for treating him like a child. So one day he gathered her 5 cats and lit them on fire. His plan backfired as one cat ran into the house and burnt the house down. He was put into the asylum and still faces problems with his mother.

Motivation/Goals:
Doug merely longs for a personal connection with others, but how he speaks to people is his main barrier. He is determined from day one to burn the theatre to the ground. He lights small fires here and there and is eventually placed in a closed ward. Lewis taking over his role in the play wouldn’t have helped preventing Doug from trying to the burn the theatre down. A motivating factor for Doug was his anger, anger with his mother, with his world and angry with his lack of connection to the theatre. In the end we find the theatre was burnt down, Doug being the major suspect of course.

Emotional and intellectual growth:
As a person, Doug doesn’t mature a lot during the play. He kept to his ways of being cruel to those who he saw to be weaker than himself, often women, and he also remained an angry person because of a number of reasons. However, as he is articulate and perceptive, his intelligence enables him to manipulate both those in his circumstances and those around him, but he continues with the same emotional mindset throughout the play. Lighting fires was his only way to get his mind off his problem.

Key quotes associated with Doug:

-One main quote associated with Doug is, “Go burn a cat!” Used by at least 3 different characters throughout the play. It is so important because it relates directly and literally to the things he has done in his past. It is seen by the patients as the only way to hurt him deep down, because it triggers the memories of his mother.

-Doug’s main quote, coming under the theme of Love is; “(about Lucy) You said she was into free love didn’t you? Can’t get over it. you do this old fashioned opera-this is the era of free love and orgies.” This is typical of Doug’s mindset. He links love directly to sex, which links in to him seeing women as sexual objects.
-Doug’s main quote, coming under the theme of Fidelity is; “Women like to pretend they don’t play around, but they’re just more secretive about it. They don’t brag like men.” Doug tends to believe what he hears. Not knowing about Doug’s personal relationships with other women, readers are lead to believe this, because he would have little respect and trust in women, because of his mother.

-Doug is given a lot of one-liners in the play to provide a comedic side to it. These are suited to his character as he is seen to be a bit of a larrikin.

by Garrison & Callum

Henry

DETAILS:
Lawyer
40 – 50 years old
Plays Don Alfonso in Cosi Fan Tutte
Has been institutionalised for the majority of his life

PERSONAL QUALITIES:
Passionate
Patriotic
Vulnerable
Nostalgic
Intelligent
Traditional
Baffled
Frustrated
Conservative

RELATIONSHIPS:

Wife, temptress – “my wife was like Dorabella” pg 64

Parents, father fought in the Korean War – “My fffffather fought in the war. For you and ffffor me. He was a gggreat man. You are traitors.” Pg 47

CONFLICT: With Nick in regards to views on Vietnam War.

GOALS: To perform in the play to the best of his ability.

EMOTIONAL AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH:
Henry is a slow and almost insecure character
Shy- Becomes more confident
Child like – represented by soldiers

QUOTES:
Fidelity - “Whether woman can remain true is a ttttragedy” pg 49

Political views, Nick – “Traitors! Traitors! Traitors!” pg 46
Lewis, communism – “you make fun of us by making us communists.” Pg 48


by Blake, Nicole & Jess

Roy

NAME/DETAILS: Roy. He is 40-50 years old and has spent most of his life in mental institutions.

PERSONAL QUALITIES: Outspoken, enthusiastic, control freak, selfish, delusional, passionate, demeaning, sarcastic and energetic.

RELATIONSHIPS AND CONFLICTS: Lewis and Roy have a bit of a love/hate relationship. Roy is friendly up until the point where Lewis makes a stand the Roy whinges. Roy: “We’ll be like Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin”. Lewis: “Roy!” Roy: “Hark! Adolf Hitler has spoken.”

Henry’s relationship with Roy is pretty similar. Roy is happy with Henry as long as he does what he’s told. He gets in to his whinging state when Henry doesn’t abide by what he says. He has no problem with hitting Henry into submission (p27).

Cherry is to strong willed to be dominated by Roy and hence he has no strong connection with her. As Cherry has strong feelings for Lewis and Roy isn’t a fan of Lewis’ directing they don’t really get along.

Zac is in direct conflict with Roy due to their musical interests. Roy is into Mozart’s music whilst Zac hates that kind of music and is interested with Wagner.

Nick is extremely liked by Roy due to his “directional ability” and prefers his methods to Lewis’ mainly because they follow Roy’s visions and ideas.

MOTIVATION/GOALS: Roy is driven by his illusions of the “perfect world”. Hence why he is so passionate about the opera and its success means everything.

EMOTIONAL AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH: Roy remains the same from the start to the end. His delusions of reality don’t allow him to accept things as they are and hence why he remains in the asylum.

KEY QUOTES:

“We’ll be like Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin” (p3)

“Hark! Adolf Hitler has spoken” (p15)

“You can’t play the piano-accordion in Mozart!” (p25)

“Oh my god. My god! I’ve got it. Roy you’ve done it again!” (p39)

“Brilliant! Couldn’t put it better myself. Are you listening Jerry?” (p43)

“Love is what you feel when you have no emotion left to hate.” (p61)

“You’re alright, Jerry.” (p75)

“Back to D Ward. I noticed some of the wildest applause from the D Ward section tonight. I expect a surprise party for me. I’ll act surprised. “ (p88)

by Ben & Cameron

Justin

Details:
Justin Anderson is a social worker in his late thirties or his early forties. He is:
*Neat and precise.
*Full of his own importanceRelationships:

*Sceptical – about the play’s success. He doesn't believe in the patients' ability.
*Cynical – about the possibility of rehabilitation for his patients


Justin’s relationships are mainly involved with Lewis and the inmates. His relationship with Lewis is one of sarcasm where he doesn’t believe in Lewis and his abilities to make the inmates come out of their shell like he was requested.


His relationship with the inmates is also one of sarcasm and also can come across as arrogant towards them thinking he is a lot better than them

Conflict:
At the start of the play it is very hard for Lewis to gain Justin’s respect. As soon as something goes wrong the project becomes an experiment and must be cancelled.

Motivation/Goals:

I’d keep everything in track to look after the patients.
Make sure everyone is having fun and organised.

Key quotes:

‘’Sorry is such an easy word to say, you don’t greater disasters do you ‘’
‘’Lewis , they all have to be back in their wards at four. ‘’
‘’Come on everyone back to your wards.’’
‘Marvellous. Just marvellous, Lewis. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. A few down the front were a bit quiet, but what can you expect from the catatonics, right? And the cast! Didn’t think it was possible. Came right out of their shells. They blossomed. Blossomed!’ (84)

by Pete & Xav
 
Other points to note about Justin:
Represents the inadequacies of the mental health system in the 70’s and conflicting ideas about treatment eg. high art vs electric shock
Has had Roy complaining to him every day about Lewis’ direction but doesn’t actively support Lewis.
Is patronising towards Lewis
Doesn’t seem to understand the patients he is trying to help

Nick

Name /Details: Nick (last name unknown) aged between 21 and 24, He is Lewis’ friend and Lucy’s lover, He is a director of university plays.


Personal Qualities: The character Nick has many different personality traits;

Nick is very blunt and to the point with his directing. This is a good quality to have when you are a director as you need to take charge and assert your dominance.

Nick is also very idealistic in his views on the Vietnam War. This trait compiled with his nature to be very blunt and to the point ends up being the primary source of tension between himself an Henry, as their views about the war differ.

Another of Nick’s personality traits is his untrustworthy nature. An example of his completely selfish and despicable betrayal of Lewis is when he has sex with Lucy. Nick’s arrogance about the whole situation is shown when he quips to Lewis “No, she’s sleeping with you, we’re having sex”.

Relationships: Nick has a relationship as friends with Lewis and as a lover with Lucy even though Lucy and Lewis are together, this shows that nick cannot hold a good relationship as he is into free love. Henry and nick have a hate and hate relationship from the moment they saw each other, the situation was heated since day one when they found out that their personalities clashed

Conflict: He has conflict with Henry over the people in the play being Albanians and not Australian soldiers

Motivational goals: Nick is motivated to support bringing our troops over from the war and be with Lucy

Emotional and intellectual growth: He doesn’t really grow throughout the story he just stays in the same frame of mind throughout the book

Key quotes associated with characters:

“No, she’s sleeping with you, we’re having sex”.

“Barricades and bombs? Why Not?”

“A fuckin’ Mozart opera. Lucy can’t believe it either”

“They are going to take me away to the funny farm”

“Not only are they nuts, but they’re right wing nuts.”

Lucy

Name/Details:
Lucy is aged between 20-23. She lives with Nick and Lewis. She is pretty and described as looking like a folk singer from the 1970’s.

Personal qualities:
• Independent
• Confident
• Indifferent
• Political Activist
• Opinionated
• Selfish
• Confident in her sexuality
• Believes in free love
• Lack of empathy towards mental patients
• Cheater

Relationships:
Lewis is her boyfriend at first they get along but Lucy tells Lewis she is sleeping with Nick and they break up.


Nick is her sexual partner, he moves in with them and at first she dislikes him because he is obnoxious and pig headed but they both believe in the same things and they have the same points of view. They get closer and eventually start having sex.

Conflict:
• Lucy is cheating on lewis with his bestfriend Nick “I’m sleeping with you and having sex with Nick”
• Lucy goes to protest against the Vietnam war at the moratorium with Nick
• Lucy feels left out with Lewis paying more attention to the mental patients

Motivation/Goals:
• To finish her university course
• Lucy is a political activist against the Vietnam War

Emotional + Intellectual growth:
• Emotionally Lucy feels disattached towards Lewis
• Intellectually she grows closer to Nick and his intellect and political views
• Lucy herself, grows more as a women doing what she wants and what she believes in

Quotes:

P1. Lucy is sceptical of Lewis doing Cosi


“Are you sure you know what you are doing?”


P.70 Lucy comes to take Lewis to the Gallileo rehearsals. He chooses not to go.


“Working with these people has changed you. We used to talk about things. Important things. Now all you can talk about is reactionary drivel like Cosi Fan Tutte”


P.70 Lucy is talking to Lewis about Nick


“He is a fantastic organiser”


P.70 Lucy chooses to go to nicks rehearsals over Lewis


“I’m going to Nicks rehearsals”


P.71 Lucy tells Lewis she is cheating on him


“I have sex with Nick and sleep with you”


P.71 Lucy expresses her views towards the relationship


“Lewis it’s not as if we are married”


P.71 Lucy talks about fidelity


“No, I am a Woman. Ever heard of a man who is faithful?”


P.72 Stage directions – Lucy finds out Lewis kissed Julie


[LUCY, Storms out of the hall. Silence.]

by Ashlee & Callam

Lewis

Personal Qualities


Lewis was very naïve in the way that he seemed to be inexperienced directing mental patients to do a play. He found it difficult to control the mental patients quite a bit which meant they would wreck havoc. Lewis to be a successful director Lewis needed to be much more firm with the patients. Nick even says to Lewis, “You will never be a director until you can convince them that what you want to do is what they want to do.” Lewis was very enthusiastic about starting the play and completing it; he has an intense interest and liking for directing and is keen to do the play not only for him but the patients who are enjoying doing something out of their wards. Lewis seemed to be very resilient in the way he was capable of carrying on after suffering hardship for example finding out his girlfriend Lucy was cheating on him with his best friend, Nick. Lewis didn’t let this incident let him down but he carried on with the play and was very committed and pledged to the patients. Lewis has a lot of integrity and was very honest, wholesome and sincere with the patients and would tell honestly tell Doug who was very rude and sexual personal truths about his relationship with his girlfriend, Lucy. Lewis is a very honorable man who is very upright and considerate of how the patients were feeling and what they were happy to doing in a play. Roy chose to do the play ‘Cosi Fan Tutte”, Lewis thought this would be very tricky for mental patients to do and wasn’t to keen at all with doing that certain opera but gave it a go and made allowances and was loyal to Roy and big his dreams of doing Cosi. Lewis was extremely patient with the patients and tolerated a lot of annoyances and silliness from the patients, for example, Ruth would seem to ask Lewis a lot of meaningless questions and Lewis was able to remain calm and answer her questions. Lewis had a good sense of humor and was able to connect with the patients much better with his sense of humor. Lewis can come across a bit selfish because he puts the play above his girlfriend and does what he wants to do rather than going to a political activism with his girlfriend Lucy.

Relationships:
Lewis has a girlfriend named Lucy and lives in a house with Lucy and he’s Best Friend Nick. It is unclear how long Lewis and Lucy have been together but if they are living together and talk of marriage then I presume they have been together for a while. Lewis develops really strong relationships with the patients. For example Cherry’s crush on Lewis, Julie and Lewis’s little love affair, Roy’s actions and attitudes, Zac little liking for Ruth¬.

Conflict

In the play Cosi, Lewis spends a lot of time in Act 1 trying to avoid conflict and confrontations with his fellow mental patients. The ways in which Lewis avoided this conflict was by going along with Roy’s choice of the Mozart opera even though it was an unrealistic idea. Roy would always give Lewis a hard time in regards to the way he directs. Lewis had enough of this, but to avoid the conflict he put up with it. He was focused on the play and didn’t need any drama to interfere with it. Lewis also had a hard time with Cherry and Lucy. Cherry had a crush on Lewis and would be jealous every time he talked to Lucy. This caused a little conflict with Lucy and Cherry and Lewis was right in the middle of it. This made it hard for Lewis to direct.

Another conflict that arose from the play was regarding to the Vietnam War. Lucy and Nick didn’t agree to the play Cosi Fan Tutte because it involved themes such as love and fidelity which they thought weren’t acceptable while the war was going on. They thought that this was just a waste of time, and didn’t support him the way a girlfriend and best friend should. In the end, Lewis ignored Lucy and Nick’s thoughts and went on with the play that he was passionate about.

Emotional and intellectual growth
In Cosi, Lewis is forced to mature and take the lead. When things don’t seem to go right in regards towards the play, Lewis learns to step up and take control. Before this play Lewis was just a university student trying to succeed in life, but when he took on the role of director in Cosi Fan Tutte he learned that to become successful in life you must be patient.

When Lucy and Nick don’t support Lewis’s idea of directing the play he picks himself up and learns that he can do this, and realises he has abilities he never thought he had before. He grows into a man that can control a group of mental patients his never met before, and he can deal with the conflict and drama that is put in front of him. Lewis never gave up on this play, he grew to be determined and focused on the job ahead of him.

Lewis’s thoughts on love and fidelity changed and grew within the play. Although Lewis was very passionate about this theme, he knew that if Lucy didn’t feel the same there was no point to waste his time on someone who doesn’t love him back. He grew and was able to let go, he knew there was somewhere else out there who could treat him right and with respect.

Eloise , Jordie and Demi

Plot notes

ACT 1

Description of Lewis-
Lewis is a talented man who was both a bit reluctant but also eager to start a play with mental patients for money. He’s a bit concerned and worried about working with mental patients weather it will work or not and if they are controllable or not. I don’t think he really sees them as normal people either.

Attitudes of Nick and Lucy-
Nick and especially Lucy (Lewis’s girlfriend) are not really keen on Lewis doing a play with mental people. They don’t help and support Lewis as much as they should and they don’t appreciate his effort.

Justin’s description of the patients-
Justin the social worker is excited about the play but is also mindful about how the patients will get alone and behave towards Lewis. He can see that Lewis is a bit nervous about working with the patients but comforts him.

First impressions of each character-

Roy-
Roy is really excited about the play and has lots of plans and expectations of what the play will be about. He is very hard to control because he is so opinionated and takes over Lewis’s roll quite a bit. Lewis is constantly yelling at Roy to be quiet and a lot of people in the asylum find him annoying because he talks a lot and has something to say about every thing.

Doug
Doug swears a lot and is very blunt and abusive. He has a very foul mouth and talks about women very graphically and disrespectfully. He’s not very trust worthy and loves to start fires.

Henry
Henry is very shy and quiet and doesn’t say much. He refuses to do anything and is constantly getting up to leave but Lewis and Roy stop him. He has a stutter and never looks anyone in the eye. His left arm is paralyzed.

Zac
Zac loves his music. He seems too be always doped up on medication that he is out of it. He seems to only want to be in the play to play music. Zac doesn’t say too much, unless it related to music.

Cherry
Cherry is enthusiastic about doing the play but not if it has singing or is an opera. She can be a bit abusive and won’t tolerate Roy’s nonsense. She seems to know how to control the other mental patients and help Lewis out a bit with that.

Julie
Julie seems pretty happy about doing the play because it’s something to do, she doesn’t say too much though. Julie seems to be the most normal out of all of them and is calm but a drug addict.

Ruth
Ruth can be very obsessive over little things and ask a lot of unimportant questions which can be very frustrating for Lewis. Lewis really needs to be firm with her and give her clear instructions.

Problems Lewis is facing-
I think Lewis is having trouble controlling all of the mental patients and being boss. Roy can be very controlling and take over Lewis job as director quite a bit. Lewis needs to take control and be boss so that Roy doesn’t take over. Doug is another patient that Lewis is having trouble with, Doug will not be told what to do and can’t be trusted to be out of sight because he has a problem lighting fires. Henry is also a bit of a problem because he is very shy and quiet and doesn’t speak a word so how is he suppose to act.

Why doesn’t he leave?
Lewis doesn’t leave because he needs the money and also to get out there and do some directing in the real world but mainly because he is connecting with the patients and becoming friends with them so he is too attached to leave. The patients are dependent on him and really want to do the play and without Lewis they will have to go back to their wards and I think Lewis knows that so he needs to do this for them. He has involved himself and now it’s too late to get out.

Impressions of Nick (Radio)-
Nick is a very opinionated person and he is very forward and open with his thoughts on things. He is vey anti-war but is taking it a bit too far. He has big ideas for the future.

What do we learn about Doug-
We find out in Scene 2 how Doug managed to get into the mental institute and why everyone tells him to “Go burn a cat!” I think Doug also blames his mum for being in the mental institute and for his love for lighting fires.

Doug’s Speech- (HACM)
Doug swears quite a fair bit and is very rude and forward and can be a bit intruding on people’s personal lives. He asks very personal questions and is very curios and can be rather sick and fowl mouthed.

Cherry what do we learn-
We find out a bit about cherry’s dad but find out that it was just a joke so we don’t learn too much about her family life. We find out that cherry likes Lewis and has a crush on him. Cherry cares for Lewis so feeds him lots of Sandwiches and makes sure he is comfortable and happy because she likes him.

Theme- Love and Fidelity-
The patients are finding out that Lewis’s girlfriend Lucy lives in a house with his best friend Nick and they are all surprised Lewis trusts them not to sleep together. Lucy doesn’t like talk about love when there are more important things going on in the world such as the war. Julie thinks that men can be very judgmental of women playing around but it’s ok for them to do it and when women do it just proves their worst thoughts about woman.

The cover up-
Doug starts a fire in the toilets and Justin the social worker decides the experiment is over and that Lewis isn’t up to controlling and directing these mental patients because they are up to mischief. When the patients over hear Justin’s conversation with Lewis and realize it is over, cherry takes the blame and says she was smoking and accidently started the fire.

Why does Lewis join the conspiracy?
Lewis joins the conspiracy because he sees how eager these patients are to do the play especially because they were all willing to lie about the incident to keep performing. So Lewis goes along with the cover up and they are able to continue doing cosi.

Theme-Mental Illness –
From the fire incident you can see how mental illness is like a really bad habit and it is uncontrollable for the patient to not light fires or addiction to drugs etc. we also see how Doug lies about doing it deliberately because he won’t admit that he has the problem and is almost convinced himself that he didn’t do it. They can’t stop it.

Difficulties related to mental illness-
It can be difficult for others to understand and also annoying for them. They can be difficult to explain things too or control. They can be hard to trust and very unpredictable. It’s not something that they can just stop doing because it is related to the brain.

What do we learn about Julie?
We learn that Julie that Julie is in the mental institute because she is a drug addict. We also find out Julie’s thoughts on love and fidelity and her opinion of men. She does not seem to like psychiatrists and sees them as peeping toms.

Lewis’s Grandmother-
Lewis’ grandmother went mad and was in an asylum and was living in the year before Lewis was born and thought Lewis was Eric his father and his mother was about to have him.

Theme- Illusion and Reality-
Lewis has to explain to Ruth one of the mental patients that they are pretending or acting but as she is compulsive obsessive she must know exactly what to do and what they are pretending and why which can be frustrating for Lewis. I think it can be hard to explain it to a mental patient also.

Ruth-
Ruth seems to be the only patient that has a problem with pretending but is constantly asking Lewis if it is an illusion or real. I don’t think she understands why they need to pretend when the real would be so much more believable. She likes to know exactly what Lewis wants her to do and can’t just act.

Cherry’s crush on Lewis-
Cherry asks Lewis if he thinks women can remain faithful and if he thinks they are in the end of this scene. Cherry then tells Lewis that she would be faithful to let him know again that she likes him.

Example of Comedy- (HACM)
Roy has a very sarcastic sense of humor which can be quiet annoying and rude. Julie can be quite funny and is cracking a few funny jokes about what her life was like before the asylum. Julie can be quite sarcastic too and they all have pretty dry senses of humor.

Contrast between Nick and Lewis-
Nick can be very rude and is very critical of the mental patients and can be unreliable. Nick is only helping so Lewis will help him. Nick isn’t scared to tell the patients what he thinks and tells them exactly what to do, he is a better director. Nick knows that if you can’t convince the actors to do what you want to do then you will be no good at directing and I think that is why nick is a better director than Lewis. Nick is very up himself too and swears quite a bit whereas Lewis doesn’t and is very patient.

View expressed on the Vietnam War-
Nick shouldn’t support the Viet cong because they are the enemy. Australia and America shouldn’t be killing the Vietnamese. Nick should be supporting his own country. Communism is bad. The communists are winning.

Conflict between Nick and Henry-
Nick supports the Viet cong and communists and Henry supports the Americans. Nick gives money to north Vietnam for medical supplies and Henry supports Australia and what his father once fought for. Henry sees Nick as a traitor and wants communism stopped.

Theme- Love
The theme love plays a big part in the play Cosi, but all the mental patients have different views on what love is.

Lewis- Lewis thinks hearts should be hard won.

Roy- Roy thinks Mozart is about love, not madness. Roy seems to think hate is a much more strong emotion and we only love when we have nothing left to hate.

Julie- Julie says love is being foolish. Julie also thinks that love is like being on the edge or divine madness and is hallucinating without the drugs.

Cherry- Cherry thinks most women fight to keep men out of their pants.

Henry-Henry thinks Dora Bella was a temptress.

Theme- Reality

Having real props makes things more real and believable. Cherry introduces the idea of using shock treatment in the play and having real props and thinks it’s less fake and you see why a women’s heart would soften towards a man if she saw what was happening to him in shock treatment.

Shock treatment-

Cherry had the idea to use shock treatment in the play instead of a Mesmer magnet because it is more effective. Roy doesn’t agree because it’s not in his vision of the play. Shock treatment can be painful and because the patients have had it before Roy can act it out really well and it’s far more believable.

Theme- Mental illness

Mental illness patients receive shock treatment which is quite horrible and were put on a lot of different drugs to control there illnesses which can be a bit confronting and scary for Lewis when he sees Roy acting out what occurs during shock treatment.

Characters-

Roy and Julie

???

Lewis’ Decision-
Lewis decides not to go to Nick's moratorium meeting and stay at the asylum with the mental patients and rehearse because the patients need him and they open soon. Lewis doesn’t want to let the patients down either. The play is important to Lewis even though Lucy doesn’t see why and doesn’t agree with Lewis about it.

Lucy’s Reaction-
Lucy is surprised and angry with Lewis’s decision to not go to the moratorium meeting and thinks he’s stupid for doing a play on love and fidelity when there are more important things happening in the world at the moment. Nick is his best friend and this is a big event for him and Lewis isn’t going.

Love and Fidelity (sex)

(Lewis and Julie)

Lewis kissed Julie in the previous scene and I think he thinks that’s alright because it’s not sex but just a little kiss. I don’t think Lewis sees it as a big deal because he’s not sleeping with Julie. Lewis is angry at Lucy for not being true and faithful but really he isn’t either even though it was just a kiss.

Lewis’s reaction to Lucy sleeping with Nick-

Lewis seems very surprised and angry when he finds out Lucy is have sex with his best friend and refers it back to the opera because Lucy is just like the women in the play not because true and faithful.

Play within a play (HACM)
The book ‘Cosi’ is about a group of mental patients doing a play. The book is set out like a play also so it is like a play with in a play. The characters are acting out a play but they are doing a play within that play.

How this is illustrated in the scene-
This particular scene with Lucy and Lewis is set out like a play but they are not acting in the play. The way Lewis and Lucy are talking about sex and being true and faithful is like they are doing the play but it is a real life situation where the women has not been true and faithful. Lewis quotes the play/opera quite a bit when arguing with Lucy.

Lewis and Roy- how does Lewis deal with him?
Roy decides to quit just before opening night because he has stage fight and is nervous about performing. Lewis takes Roy aside away from the other mental patients and has a private conversation with him about how he can help him with his lines and that the patients are here to see him.

Nick and Lewis-
Lewis has finally had enough of nick bagging out the mental patients and sleeping with his girl friend. Nick starts say that Lewis has turned mental too and teases Lewis so Lewis punches him to the ground. Nick doesn’t see that it is a big deal that he is having sex with Lucy but Lewis is furious with him and is not mates with him anymore.

Love and Fidelity -as explored via Nick and Lewis-
It’s alright to not be true and faithful to your boyfriend or girlfriend if there are no feelings of love behind the sex but if it is just sex it’s alright and not cheating and you are still being true. Its free love, nothing more. There not married so it’s ok. If they’re not possessive about each other is not a big deal.

Nicks attitude-
Nick is very easy going and up himself. He feels pretty good because he’s protest is going to be good and he’s having sex with Lucy. Nick doesn’t treat Lewis very good at all and doesn’t think about how Lewis might be feeling. Nick has a very nasty attitude and is very sarcastic. He is not supportive of Lewis at all and teases him.

Lewis-How has he changed-
Lewis has become more of a man and has gained more confidence and won’t tolerate his friends picking on what he is doing. He’s is much better at controlling the mental patients and is a better director. He has changed from thinking love is unimportant and there are more important thing happening in the world to where would the world be without love.

Roy-what do we learn-
Roy spoke about his mother a lot in the beginning of the book and how he grew up with his mother singing the songs from Cosi but we find out that he was a foster child and was in and out of orphanages because the foster parents didn’t want him or couldn’t handle him.

Message of the opera-
One of the messages in the Opera ‘Cosi fan tutte’ is that women cannot be trusted or faithful. ‘Cosi fan tutte’ is translated as “Women are like that”. There is also a message that all can be forgiven and that love and understanding can put everything right again because the men take their women back after they still know that they would have married other men.

How have each of the characters blossomed?
Lewis changed for the better and from his experiences with the patients and even nick and Lucy, he has become a better director and a better person and has new thoughts on things such as love and has control of his life now.

Henry has come out of his shell and is far more confident. The other characters in the play all became a lot closer and more confident.

What has Lewis learnt?
Lewis has learnt that love is important and love is not just about sex but trust and being on the edge and excitement.

What happens to the cast members in the future?

Lewis- Moved house.
Henry- Died.
Roy- Went from ward to ward after fellow patients signed petitions to get rid of him.
Cherry- Sent one love letter to Lewis
Doug- Doug burnt down the theatre.
Julie- Died of a drug overdose.
Nick and Lucy- Didn’t last long, both into fidelity. Lucy became an academic and nick became Labour MP in the Upper House.
Zac- Left the asylum and founded a rock and roll group called ‘The Psychotic Wagner’s’ and went far with that.
Ruth- Left the institution to become a time and motion expert.

“What sort of thing do you want me to do with them? (Lewis)
"I can’t believe you’re going to do a show here…” (Lucy)
“They are normal people who have done extraordinary…” (Justin)
“Come on, jerry; let’s get this show on the road.” (Roy)
“You get to f*** the actresses?” (Doug)
“Henry’s part of a hand picked team.” (Roy)
“Piano?” (Zac)
“Doug! Roy! Stop, or ill knock your block off!” (Cherry)
“I prefer this to the ward.” (Julie)
“So we’ll pretend? To drink coffee.” (Ruth)

“I’m going to kill you for this!” (Cherry)

“Why can’t I ever say no? Just Leave. They’re mad. Its madness.” (Lewis)

“Barricades and bombs? Why not? Australians, especially young Australians of my age, are getting fed up with our society. We want changes and we want them now!” (Nick)

“Christ, Nick-!” (Lewis)

“Go burn a Cat.” (Cherry)

“Why are they always saying that?” (Lewis)

“It’s what I did.” (Doug)

“Was Lucy a virgin when you first had her?” (Doug)

“You know, I really like you…” (Cherry)

“I’ll go and get my sandwiches so I can share them with you.” (Cherry)

“Eat!” (Cherry)

“She’s into politics. She hates talk about love. She thinks it’s icky. ‘Love is the last gasp of bourgeois romanticism’ she says. She hates me doing an opera about love and fidelity while thousands of Vietnamese are being killed by American troops.” (Lewis)

“It was me! It was me! Doug isn’t to blame. I dropped a ciggie down the toilet.” (Cherry)

“Is that right?” (Justin)

[A silence, everyone looks to Lewis]

“That’s why she spends so much time in the toilets when she should be at rehearsal. It’s where she smokes.”
“You believe me that I didn’t start this fire deliberately?” (Doug)
“Henry, please…” (Lewis)

[Henry shakes his head. Roy falls to his knees and starts banging his head on the floor.]

“Why! Why am I always let down! Why do people let me down?!” (Roy)

“Roy, don’t do that.” (Lewis)
“Don’t ever tell a psychiatrist that story; they’d have a heart attack on the symbolism of it all.” (Julie)
“I guess so. I liked my grandmother, I knew she had gone mad, but she was still my grandmother.” (Lewis)
“An illusion, yes. And you’re both gazing at miniatures of your lovers.” (Lewis)

“Were in an illusion of a garden, carrying an illusion of tiny paintings, so shall I sit down and pretend I am acting?” (Ruth)

“I am. With someone like you I could be true and faithful.” (Cherry)

[She laughs] “See, Im happy coming to this burnt out theatre.”

“Christ, you’ll never be a director until you can convince them that what you want to do is what they want to do.” (Nick)

“Henry, I am not a communist. I do not send money to North Vietnam for medical supplies. Nick does, I do not. I am against this war, but I am not supporting the enemy. We must support any way of getting Australia and America out of this quagmire.” (Lewis)

“You are a traitor. Australian soldiers die. Die and you wave ffffflags for the Viet Cong.” (Henry)

“Hate is a much more pure emotion. We choose our enemies with greater care than our lovers. That’s why hatred lasts longer…” (Roy)

“Yes, the ore real it is, the more real it is.” (Ruth)

“One volt, two volts, three volts.” (Cherry)

“Are you alright Roy?” (Lewis)

“forty, eighty, a hundred-” (Cherry)

“Roy!” (Lewis)

[Roy starts to convulse as if real shocks are being sent through him. It looks so real that Julie and Henry are concerned for him and empathize. Cherry, though is enjoying this.]

[Becoming concerned]

“Are you alright Roy?” (Lewis)

“They need me.” (Lewis)

“You can’t go to both.” (Lucy)

“We open soon.” (Lewis)

“Make a choice!” (Lucy)

“Mozart. Im not going to let them down.” (Lewis)
“Without love the world wouldn’t mean much.” (Lewis)

“Lewis get a grip on yourself. You’ve always mistaken lust for love…” (Lucy)

“I’m not having sex with her.” (Lewis)

[Lewis is stunned.]

“It’s over. Im shifting house.” (Lewis)

LEWIS: “My Dorebella wouldn’t do such a thing, Did she misbehave?

Not that I have any doubts about her. What? Speak out! Did she fall for you? Oh, my god, if I even suspected-”

LUCY: “Lewis?”

LEWIS: [quoting Cosi] “Woman’s constancy is like the Arabian Phoenix. Everyone swears it exists, but no one has seen it.”

LUCY: “Don’t quote that fuckin’ opera at me! Is that what you think of women?
“Im not leaving, Im quitting.” (Roy)
“What are you on about – too much time with the loonies, Lewis.” (Nick)
“I should hit you.” (Lewis)
“Lucy’s not possessive about you im not possessive about her. What’s the fuss?” (Nick)
“Women shouldn’t come between mates.” (Nick)
“You’re not my mate.” (Lewis)
“It’s only sex.” (Nick)
“Thanks a lot.” (Lewis)
“I said, don’t sing that song.” (Lewis)
“He hasn’t got any parents, he’s an orphan.” (Cherry)
“But I thought his mother and father-” (Lewis)
“Everyone blames women but I forgive them, if they change their love a thousand times a day, some call it sin, others a drug but I think it’s the necessity of women’s hearts.” (Henry)
“…And the cast! Didn’t think it was possible. Came right out of their shells. They blossomed. Blossomed!” (Justin)

Background to Cosi - Mental Illness

What do you know about mental illness?
Mental illness is a broad term applied to various illnesses that affects the mind and psychology of people. The illness conflicts with how the person feels thinks, behaves, and interacts with other people. It has a continuous effect not only on the sufferer but also on their family, partners and friends. Some of the major diagnoses are depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar mood disorder, personality disorders, and eating disorders. Mental illness can affect anyone at any time. There are many degrees of mental illness ranging from being unable to cope with stress to not being able to get out of bed or leave home and relying on medication. There are ranges of different treatments for different levels and types of mental illness these include: “medication, cognitive and behavioral psychological therapies, psycho-social support, psychiatric disability rehabilitation, avoidance of risk factors such as harmful alcohol and other drug use, and learning self-management skills”. Patients are not born with the illness but may be at higher risk if other members of the family have had an mental illness, there are many factors that contribute to why someone may be diagnosed with a mental disease these can be environmental and to do with events that have happened in their life e.g. A death, it may also be from the makeup of the individuals brain, and patients may have suffered an extreme trauma. People with mental illness generally live fulfilling lives and control their illness without letting the illness control them.

How has mental illness been portrayed in the popular media?
It is so unfortunate looking at the history of mental illness in the media. Negatively spun news headlines, mental illness the blame for crimes both in the news and in television series and movies, and misinformed information being relayed to listeners and readers all played a major part in generating a destructive and negative view on mental illness.
From the website http://www.mindframe-media.info/site/index.cfm?display=83685 I found this startling information in regard to mental illness (survey):
• 51% of surveyors in felt that depictions of people with mental illness in the entertainment industry were negative, and 43% believed coverage of mental illness in the news media was mostly negative.
• 75% of consumers of mental health services in a UK study felt that media coverage was 'unfair, unbalanced or very negative', while 50% believed media portrayal of mental health issues had 'a negative effect on their mental health'.
• Studies showed that when participants were exposed to fictional or news items which portrayed mental illness negatively, they developed less positive attitudes towards mental illness. Positive items did not alter their attitudes. 

Although mental illness does have a profound past of negative exposure, but in more recent times as the world becomes more equal, mental illness is being shown in a brighter light. I will just recall some of the programs that I have watched over the Christmas holiday period 09-10. First I saw “I am Sam” a touching movie about a man with the brain of a five year old winning his daughter back, his mental illness along with his friends all shown positively. I also observed an eye-opening documentary about people suffering tourettes but still doing marvelous things with their lives. Along with these there are other shows, movies, news programs and print media that are waking up o the reality that mental illness is here and ok!

What is the current thinking in relation to treatment? Has the institutional culture depicted in the play largely vanished?
When it comes to treating and helping out people with mental illness a lot of people may think of horrid Nurse Ratchet’s routine from the ward in the film “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. However treatments like confinement, sedative drugs, and electric shock “therapy” are rarely seen today. The current thinking in relation to mental illness is to give patients personal treatments in hope of giving them normal successful lives. Today so much research has gone into the reasons why people react differently to their lives, plus more awareness gives mental illness sufferers comfort. Group therapy offers support for people who may feel scared or alone. Improved medication may be prescribed but it can now be at different intensities varying on the patient. For some who may have been through trauma seeing a psychiatrist offers guidance and understanding. What is surprising to me is that although the institutions have vanished into our history electric shock therapy is still used but very rarely; the education as to how to successively complete the treatment has grown. The biggest help to those who have been diagnosed is the continuous support and understanding from loved ones plus research and proper to the world about mental illness. A grand majority of patients who go through mental illness overcome the illness and live fulfilling lives with their families.