Thursday 25 March at 8pm, Friday 26 March at 1pm & 8pm
Got a burning desire for theatre? Laughter is always the best medicine! Lewis, a young director and a university drop-out, takes a job in a mental asylum working with patients who are interested in the dramatic arts. He thinks his work will involve staging a small variety show with the group, until long-term patient Roy hijacks the show and insists that the production be nothing less than a grand staging of Mozart’s opera Cosi Fan Tutte. An ambitious thought to say the least! After all, none of the patients can speak Italian, nor sing and the cast is made up of aging nymphomaniacs, obsessives and pyromaniacs. Lewis is faced with the daunting task of drawing performances from a disparate group of people brought together by their individual needs and desires.
By contrasting the passion and fervour of the anti-Vietnam movement with a world of isolation and control behind closed doors, Nowra allows all the characters in his play to find fulfilment and humour in the making of a piece of theatre. Lewis’ life is touched by these extraordinary people as his operatic production lurches forward. We learn, along with Lewis, that when chasing your dreams it helps not to be too attached to reality. After all if its sanity you are after, there is no recipe like laughter!
“Nowra’s generous humour offers up a world of the most extraordinary, ordinary people, and a hilarious situation-comedy, to boot (but there are) hints of a darkness that lies beyond the lights: the real world.”
Sydney Morning Herald
“Nowra has written a terrific play about theatre, madness, illusion, sanity, life: it's a big, splendidly Australian epic”
Telegraph Mirror
Louis Nowra’s Cosi will be directed by Denis Moore (A Stretch of the Imagination), who will head an exceptional creative team. Featuring a stellar ensemble cast of eight talented actors, the play is funny, warm and wonderfully mad.
“In many ways Cosi is about the liberating nature of theatre and how it unifies everyone.”
Upcoming Shows