Cosi
Themes
One of the main themes of Cosi is the question of love and fidelity. This is shown in Act 1 Scene Two when Doug, who hates women, says: " Women like to pretend they dont play around but theyre just more secretive about it." Cherry and Ruth are very negative about sex, stating that most women work hard to keep men out of their pants. Julie thinks that love is "being foolish and stupid". Also the play that Lewis is directing, Cosi Fan tutte is all about love and fidelity. Lewis is also questioning the love and fidelity of his girlfriend as she is critical of love and of his work with the mental patients.
Another theme is Cosi is to do with mental illness and the fine line between sanity and madness. The characters are not what you expect from a patient in a mental institution. Roy is extremely articulate and Doug is very witty. Although all the patients have problems they are able to learn their lines and act very well. They are more likeable than Lucy and Nick who inhabit the outside world and have a very negitive view on mental patients. Lewis is hesitant to take on the role of director at first because he thinks of all the patients as mad but learns that they are ordinary people with different needs. It also shows the state of the mental institutions of the time in Australia. This is symbolised by the burnt out theatre at the mental institution.
Techniques
One of the techniques used in this play to show the themes is the dialogue which gives us an insight into the characters personalities and their feelings. Another technique is the use of comedy. Nowra uses comedy to show each characters weaknesses and uses clashes between the characters to highlight the different themes. The use of a play within a play is another technique.This technique lets the issues and themes of one play to be commented about in the other play. Roy's unrealistic expectations that a group of mentally ill patients can perform and sing a Mozart opera is absurb and show the
One of the main themes of Cosi is the question of love and fidelity. This is shown in Act 1 Scene Two when Doug, who hates women, says: " Women like to pretend they dont play around but theyre just more secretive about it." Cherry and Ruth are very negative about sex, stating that most women work hard to keep men out of their pants. Julie thinks that love is "being foolish and stupid". Also the play that Lewis is directing, Cosi Fan tutte is all about love and fidelity. Lewis is also questioning the love and fidelity of his girlfriend as she is critical of love and of his work with the mental patients.
Another theme is Cosi is to do with mental illness and the fine line between sanity and madness. The characters are not what you expect from a patient in a mental institution. Roy is extremely articulate and Doug is very witty. Although all the patients have problems they are able to learn their lines and act very well. They are more likeable than Lucy and Nick who inhabit the outside world and have a very negitive view on mental patients. Lewis is hesitant to take on the role of director at first because he thinks of all the patients as mad but learns that they are ordinary people with different needs. It also shows the state of the mental institutions of the time in Australia. This is symbolised by the burnt out theatre at the mental institution.
Techniques
One of the techniques used in this play to show the themes is the dialogue which gives us an insight into the characters personalities and their feelings. Another technique is the use of comedy. Nowra uses comedy to show each characters weaknesses and uses clashes between the characters to highlight the different themes. The use of a play within a play is another technique.This technique lets the issues and themes of one play to be commented about in the other play. Roy's unrealistic expectations that a group of mentally ill patients can perform and sing a Mozart opera is absurb and show the