''Così'' is a play by Australian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Louis Nowra Mark Doyle, better known by his stage name Louis Nowra, (born 12 December 1950) is an Australian writer, playwright, screenwriter and librettist. He is best known as one of Australia's leading playwrights. His works have been performed by all o ...

which was first performed in 1992 at the

Belvoir St Theatre Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Its artistic director is Eamon Flack. The theatre comprises two performing spaces: the Upstairs Theatre and the small ...

in Sydney, Australia. Set in a

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

mental hospital in 1971, ''Così'' is semi-autobiographical, and is the sequel to his previous semi-autobiographical play, '' Summer of the Aliens''. The play was adapted into the

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

film '' Cosi''.

Plot summary

Set several years after the events of ''Summer of the Aliens'', Lewis is now in a strained relationship with a bossy woman named Lucy, and in a friendship with political extremist, Nick. Lewis is always desperate for work as he states "I need the money". The venue is a theatre that smells of "burnt wood and mould", the cast are patients with very diverse needs, and the play is Mozart's ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

''. Through working with the patients, Lewis eventually discovers a new side of himself which allows him to become emotionally involved and to value love, while anti-

Vietnam war The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

protests erupt in the streets outside.

Characters

The patients make up a wide spectrum including Roy, a

manic-depressive Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that each last from days to weeks, and in some cases months. If the elevated m ...

with a passion for theatre; Cherry, who has a food obsession and is a Lewis-addicted romantic; Ruth, suffering from

obsessive–compulsive disorder Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts (an ''obsession'') and feels the need to perform certain routines (''Compulsive behavior, compulsions'') repeatedly to relieve the dis ...

(OCD) and is shown as obsessed with counting and distinguishing between illusions and reality; Doug, a

pyromania Pyromania is an impulse-control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, to relieve some tension or for instant gratification. The term ''pyromania'' comes from the Greek word (''pyr'', 'f ...

c, who loves sexual innuendo; Julie, dependent on drugs in the outside world; Henry, an older, silent man, previously a lawyer; and Zac, a drugged-up

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

. Other characters include Justin, a social worker at the mental institution; Lewis's girlfriend Lucy and his best mate Nick, whose strongly

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

ideals Lewis has followed up until now without question. Meeting patients with views different from Lucy's and Nick's opens Lewis' eyes to other people and the world around him, teaching him to be more tolerant.

Productions

''Così'' was performed at La Boite Theatre in February, 2003. The play debuted in Asia in 2009, performed in The Hong Kong Fringe Club and directed by Wendy Herbert. It received its UK premiere in 1999 at the New End Theatre in London, starring

Isla Fisher Isla Lang Fisher (; born 3 February 1976) is an Australian actress. Born in Oman to Scottish parents with whom she moved to Australia during her childhood, she began appearing in television commercials and came to prominence for her portrayal o ...

in her only stage appearance to date. It was performed at the White Bear Theatre in Kennington, London, starring Australian actor Mark Little as the manic-depressive Roy and Matthew Burton as the young theatre director, Lewis; it was directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher for a 4-week season in August 2008. In 2011, the play was performed at the

King's Head Theatre The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. The original venue was the oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2024, the pub theatre, and the King's Head Theatre now operates from a purpose-b ...

in Islington, London, directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher. In 2012, the play was performed at Urban Stages in New York City, directed by Jesse Michael Mothershed and produced by Australian Made Entertainment. In February 2014, the play was given a major Australian revival by

La Boite Theatre Company La Boite Theatre, founded as the Brisbane Repertory Theatre Society, is an Australian theatre company based in Brisbane, Queensland. La Boite was established in 1925 and is Australia’s longest continuously running theatre company. La Boite ...

directed by longtime Louis Nowra collaborator

David Berthold David Berthold is an Australian theatre and festival director, who has also been artistic director of several major Australian arts organisations. Early life and education David Berthold was born in Maitland, New South Wales. He spent some ye ...

. Melbourne based theatre company MTC revived it again in a production directed by

Sarah Goodes Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...

in May 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosi Plays by Louis Nowra 1992 plays Australian plays adapted into films Fiction set in 1971 Melbourne in fiction Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in fiction Works based on Così fan tutte