Cosi Essay
Louis Nowra’s play ‘Cosi’, demonstrates the bias of madness and deals with the subject of love and fidelity through the development of the protagonist, Lewis. Set in the era of free love and war the 1970’s, the use of dramatic techniques creates chaos and conflict as Lewis’s opinions of love and madness is challenged by his interactions with the patients from an asylum and through the production of a play-within-a-play “Cosi Fan Tutte”.
Nowra begins ‘Cosi’ by commenting on the way society treats mental patients and he continues to develop this comment throughout the play. He suggests that there is a fine line between madness and sanity, that people who are branded as ‘mad’ are still human and deserve more respect than the institutions in the 1970’s gave them. The dramatic element of setting is extremely important in presenting this viewpoint. The “burnt out theatre” becomes a symbol for the outside world’s neglect of the mentally ill. Nowra also uses the lighting to portray this theme. The stage directions “It is day outside but pitch black inside the theatre” reveal the lighting as a powerful symbol of the bleak and restricted world of the asylum. The stage directions of “a chink of light enters” is symbolic of hope and opportunity that Lewis brings into the asylum and also represents the outside world of ‘sanity’ entering into the inside world of ‘madness’.
Lewis, straight out of university “this is my first year out” is overwhelmed and intimidated by his new job of directing a play in a mental asylum that he’s only doing because “I need the money”. The dramatic technique of lighting is used at the start symbolizing Lewis’s character. The darkness is a symbol of his uncertainty and represents his fear of the unknown. Lewis “fumbles in the darkness for a light switch” this is metaphoric for his lack of control. Lewis initially has the same stereotypical views on the mentally ill as the outside world through the dramatic element of dialogue, “what if someone
Nowra begins ‘Cosi’ by commenting on the way society treats mental patients and he continues to develop this comment throughout the play. He suggests that there is a fine line between madness and sanity, that people who are branded as ‘mad’ are still human and deserve more respect than the institutions in the 1970’s gave them. The dramatic element of setting is extremely important in presenting this viewpoint. The “burnt out theatre” becomes a symbol for the outside world’s neglect of the mentally ill. Nowra also uses the lighting to portray this theme. The stage directions “It is day outside but pitch black inside the theatre” reveal the lighting as a powerful symbol of the bleak and restricted world of the asylum. The stage directions of “a chink of light enters” is symbolic of hope and opportunity that Lewis brings into the asylum and also represents the outside world of ‘sanity’ entering into the inside world of ‘madness’.
Lewis, straight out of university “this is my first year out” is overwhelmed and intimidated by his new job of directing a play in a mental asylum that he’s only doing because “I need the money”. The dramatic technique of lighting is used at the start symbolizing Lewis’s character. The darkness is a symbol of his uncertainty and represents his fear of the unknown. Lewis “fumbles in the darkness for a light switch” this is metaphoric for his lack of control. Lewis initially has the same stereotypical views on the mentally ill as the outside world through the dramatic element of dialogue, “what if someone