Throught 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 the underlying sadness of the patients lives. We are confronted by their pasts as we come to realise the causes
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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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Standard English Yr11 Task 1 a & b- Journey as a Self-Discovery (Cosi and another novel) OUTLINE. The term "journey of self-discovery" refers to a travel‚ pilgrimage ‚[1] or series of events whereby a person attempts to determine how they feel‚ personally‚ about spiritual issues [2] or priorities‚[3][4] rather than following the opinions of family‚ friends‚ neighborhood[5] or peer pressure. The topic of self-discovery has been associated with Zen.[6] A related term is "finding oneself". In drama
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"Cosi"‚ by Louis Nowra‚ is a play which comprises of many distinct characters‚ each with their own unique backgrounds and outlooks on life. Throughout Cosi‚ the different ways in which the patients escape the depressing reality of the asylum and their conditions become evident. Roy creates a false memory of a fantastic childhood and obsesses over Cosi Fan Tutte and “the music of the spheres” so as to suppress the tragic knowledge of his experiences as a child and his life in the asylum. In a
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Topic: Cosi challenges the audience’s sense of normality Set in a burnt out theatre in the 1970s‚ Louis Nowra’s play ‘Cosi’ depicts the transformation of the protagonist‚ Lewis Riley. From the start of the play to the end‚ we see that Lewis turns from a mercenary to a humanitarian. Other than the changes of Lewis‚ Nowra doesn’t fail to introduce other key themes like love and fidelity‚ as well as‚ normality and madness. The word ‘normal’ is similar as to ‘regular’ or ‘usual’. But it also gives
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An introduction to Cosi ouis Nowra was inspired to write Cosi after a visit to a performance of Hello Dolly with a group of mental patients in 1970. He worked with this group of patients to produce a version of Trial By Jury which helped many of the patients to “blossom” and also revealed the ignorance of a student leader who ridiculed the patients’ efforts. Nowra claims that the play is a combination of fact and fiction. In Cosi‚ a mature Nowra looks back and evaluates his youthful self and the
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Through the 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
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Cosi Act one Scene one: Plot: Lewis along with his girlfriend‚ Lucy‚ and his friend‚ Nick‚ enter “a burnt out theatre.” As they struggle to find a light switch they joined by Roy. Lucy leaves and Nick who is frightened joins her. Lewis meets Justin the social worker and then the other members appear. Doug‚ a pyromaniac‚ Henry‚ who says nothing and Zac‚ a musician. The women join them soon after‚ Cherry‚ who is violent‚ Julie‚ a drug addict and Ruth‚ who suffers obsessive compulsive disorder
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seen by 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
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Cosi by Louis Nowra: essay titles 1. “Just marvellous‚ Lewis. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Didn’t think it was possible. Came right out of their shells. They blossomed‚ blossomed!” ‘It is Lewis who truly blossoms in Cosi”. Do you agree? 2. Despite the comedy in Cosi‚ there is an underlying sadness throughout the play”. Discuss. 3. Cosi is more than an entertaining comedy. It reveals the sadness of the lives of the characters. 4. What does Lewis gain by directing the play? 5
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