Cosi Notes: Lewis: directs the opera at the asylum; going out with Lucy but kisses julie and eventually breaks up with Lucy; gradually takes on a stronger leadership role 21 years old main protagonist naive and inexperienced lewis is loyal‚ compassionate and kind he is a man of integrity lives with his girlfriend Lucy as well as their friend Nick. directs play because he needs the money his idealism and naivety allow him to approach the job with enthusiasm and passion becomes more confident
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The 1992 comedic play ‘Cosi’‚ written by Australian prolific writer‚ Louis Nowra‚ is a play set in 1971 at a mental institution situated in Melbourne. The central protagonist‚ Lewis Riley‚ a young inexperienced director‚ endeavours to direct the inmates in a performance of Mozart’s opera‚ ‘Cosi Fan Tutte.’ Throughout ‘Cosi’‚ Nowra displays characters that are characterised as normal‚ but display rare various degrees of “insanity”. Over the course of the play‚ the playwright has encouraged his audience
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structuring of the play within the play in Cosi‚ Louis Nowra uses the characters of Lucy and Nick to be an example of sexual love within the playwright. The basis of their relationship as we learn in the end is only sexual‚ which enables sexual love to become a major theme within the play. When Lucy openly admits that she has “sex” with Nick‚ and “sleeps” with Lewis‚ it creates a contrast of opinion with Lewis’‚ and furthermore creates conflict between the three characters. This shows the difference of opinions
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The playwright ‘Cosi’ has several backdrops throughout the book. The main once is obviously the theatre but the more in depth backgrounds is the movement of the people in the real world. The Vietnam Moratorium‚ which was fighting for the government to return all the troops from the Vietnam War and the Sexual Revolution‚ which was a social movement that fought against the traditional codes towards to sexual relationships. The Vietnam Moratorium The moratorium was a mass demonstration against
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Do you think the characters in Cosi have changed for the better? The characters in Cosi by the end of the play change. Lewis‚ Henry and Zac are prime examples of how identities are inevitably shaped by the groups to which they belong. Lewis finally shows himself to be a man‚ Henry comes out of his shell and Zac starts his own band. Zac’s introduction to the reader as a medical patient who is unable to effectively communicate with the others makes him appear to be shy person. Most of the time
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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
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society as a negative form of difference and so mental illness patients have continuously been stereotyped and marginalised by society throughout there lives. The mistreatment of mental illness patients has been displayed throughout the play Cosi. The mental characters from the play create a theme of madness through there different personalities and quirks. The theme; mental illness and madness are developed for the audience by Louis Nowra’s choice of stage directions‚ dialogue‚ conflicts and symbolism
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Cosi Character analysis Lewis - Protagonist of the play - 21 years old - Lives in Northcote‚ a very poor area‚ near an abattoir - Has left university and is searching for work. “I need money” pg.1 - Lives with his girlfriend Lucy and friend Nick - At first‚ he shares the same values as his friends Nick and Lucy‚ that love is unimportant due to the ongoing Vietnam War. - He finds work at a mental asylum - He begins work with lack of confidence and scared of the patients‚ but his confidence
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How does Nowra portray the idea that ‘madness’ is a matter of perspective? Throughout the play ‘Cosi’‚ the audience witness the lives of mentally ill people unfold before them. Louis Nowra uses black comedy and a play-within-a-play structure to force the audience to see the characters as “normal people who have done extraordinary things” rather than just their mental illnesses. Ecplored though the actions of the government in the Vietnamese war that lead to strong anti-war attitudes and a seemingly
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Cosi ‘Cosi is more than an entertaining comedy. It reveals the sadness of the lives of the characters.’ Discuss. Through 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
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