Cosi Example Essays 3o3s63

In „Cosi‟, a play written by Louis Nowra, the meaning of love is explored and challenged by the different views of the mental patients, the protagonist Lewis and his friends Nick and Lucy. Nowra considers the importance of love in human relationships and a deeper enduring bond of love based on trust, respect and loyalty. The relationship between Lewis and the patients changes him. At the beginning of the play Lewis is narrow minded and thinks that in those days politics is more important than love. However, as he continues to perform with the patients finds for himself that love is most definitely imperative for humans. Love is one of the main themes of „Cosi‟. The play suggests many different aspects of love by giving us the different opinions of love from the main characters. Ultimately throughout the play the changed values that Lewis has on love, the faith that Cherry has towards Lewis and the loyalty that Julie displays towards her lover shapes Nowra‟s views on love. Love must consist of not only strong emotions but beliefs, commitment, trust and loyalty. As we can see from Lucy‟s unfaithfulness to Lewis as she confesses, „I have sex with him and sleep with you,‟ the relationship is immediately over as the trust is broken between them. From the very beginning of the play, Roy, a mental patient suggests that they should perform „Cosi fan tutte,‟ a play centralised on love and fidelity. Lewis, a young and naive graduate who freshly took up the job of being the director for this play of mental patients replies by suggesting, „Love is not so important nowadays,‟ and Roy questions him if he is „from another planet‟. Throughout spending time with the mental patients and helping them get the play together, Lewis begins unravelling the stories and views of love from the other patients. For Julie love is about being „foolish‟ and on the „edge‟ it is important as it lets us be ourselves and brings happiness. Nowra placed Julie and Roy in the play to persuade Lewis to...

Below is a free essay on "How Are Ideas About Illusion and Reality Explored Through Nowra’s Use of Theatrical Devices in Cosi?" from Anti Essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper examples. Through Nowra‟s play the ideas contrasting delusions and realisms are explored in a way to keep the audience in limbo. Theatrical devices have been put in place to ensure the viewers look beyond the stereotypes the mentally ill have been given in society. The play within a play adds complexity to these “normal people who have done extraordinary things, thought extraordinary thoughts.” Also the use of darkness and the burnt out theatre are important

devices

in

distinguishing

between

illusion

and

reality.

The play within a play is a device used to remind the audience that they are watching a play. The reality that the audience are watching characters rehearse the opera „Cosi Fan Tutte‟ causes the audience to reflect, upon their own ideas about love, fidelity and whether being loyal to a political idea is more important than being loyal to a person. This device has mirrored „real‟ events that have occurred with Lewis‟s relationship with Lucy. When speaking to Julie he mentions how he and Lucy “sometimes talk about commitment” and how Lucy‟s dislike for “talking about love” due to her political importance, has consequently changed Lewis‟s understanding of Love. When Lewis asks is Lucy is having an affair with Nick she says it‟s only a fling and she‟s only „having sex‟ with Nick and she‟s actually „sleeping with‟ Lewis. This distinguishes between the dysfunctional couple‟s morals and beliefs. It illustrates how society of that time was significantly changing. People‟s beliefs and morals were not being as traditional;

women

were

into

„free

love‟.

The “burnt out theatre‟‟ symbolises the neglect of the mentally ill. The “mould” and tattered walls represent the patient‟s value from society. Many of the characters find using the theatre to perform “Cosi fan tutte” as a form of escapism from the mental institution. When Roy enters the theatre he looks around and says to himself, “this is where I belong”, claiming that music and performance is his “dream”. Later on Cherry...

The Use Of Humor In 'Cosi' Essay Below is a free essay on "The Use Of Humor In 'Cosi'" from Anti Essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper examples. Beneath

the

humor

in

Così

is

a

brutal

depiction

of

society‟s

treatment

of

the

mentally

ill.

Louis Nowra‟s „Cosi‟ is a play set in 1971 Melbourne that takes place within a mental asylum. It follows the efforts of young director Lewis Riley in directing the patients there in a performance of the Mozart opera „Cosi Fan Tutte‟. Despite the classification of the play as a comedy, beneath „Cosi‟ is a representation of the brutal treatment

experienced by the mentally ill at the hands of society. Nowra employs humor as a means of connecting with audiences and as a vessel to discus difficult issues in a way that is comfortable and accessible. Comedy is also incorporated

as

a

means

of

characterization

and

of

personalizing

mental

illness.

Comedy is a feature included by Nowra as a means of connecting and engaging audiences. Like Lewis, many of Nowra‟s audience would have had little to no experience with the mentally ill and so would be rendered on the outside of the issues being discussed within the play. To address this, Nowra uses comedy, a universal tool, to relax the audience and render the play accessible and relevant. Colloquial language, slapstick and running jokes such as “Go burn a cat” combine to construct a language that allows audiences to be involved within the play and receive Nowra‟s messages in a form that they can relate to. For example, when the topic of coffee on set arises, Ruth is left perplexed and obsessed with the notion. For audience who don‟t understand, this scene would be lost as it is simply too much to grasp. Instead, Nowra deliberately constructs it to be silly – “We‟ll have to have a real cappuccino machine…Did they have instant coffee in Mozart‟s day?” with Roy later snapping at her to

“shut

up”

Most audiences would be inexperienced in the field of mental illness and so comedy is a tool used by Nowra in order

to

get

his

messages

across

in

a

manner

that

is

graspable

by

a

wide

variety

of

people.

Nowra uses comedy as vessel...

Below is a free essay on "Cosi-Lucy Says to Lewis “Working with These People Has Changed You”. Has Lewis Really Changed at the End of the Play?" from Anti Essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper examples. Lucy says to Lewis “working with these people has changed you”. Has Lewis really changed at the end of the play? Lewis at the start of cosi is very content with himself and has very low self-esteem and confidence in himself. Working throughout the play with the patients there are some subtle changes that he undertakes but not to the extent that Lucy makes it out to be. When the play is at its end and you look back to the start you can clearly see changes that have occurred in Lewis‟ personality over the time of him working in the theatre. Within the play there are plenty of obstacles but with the help of Lewis‟ patients and his growing changes in confidence all is overcome. The first change you notice with Lewis is his confidence, to start with he doesn‟t know how to treat the patients or go about things. Roy one of the patients is the one to get the ball rolling with ideas on how to do the play and to getting the patients enthusiastic about it all. Lewis realises it‟s not that hard to do and needs to be doing the instructing and directing of the play with influence and input from Roy and the patients not the other way round. This is where Lewis‟ confidence really shows that it‟s growing and he really starts to connect with the different patients and with the play cosi fan tutte. After gaining the confidence to be able to make decisions and direct the play mostly by himself with some help of Roy and the others, a few incidents occur. Doug sets the toilets alight, which has Justin wanting to shutting the whole thing down and asking a lot of questions about how this incident occurred. Lewis tells Justin it wasn‟t Doug and it was an accident in fact to have the play continue and protect Doug from any consequences. This shows some change in Lewis as in the start he didn‟t care to much about the patients or the play he just wanted the money and something to do as he tells Nick and Lucy at the start. It shows he is really starting to bond with the patients and...

Below is a free essay on "cosi" from Anti Essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper examples.

Practice Discuss

Essay: what

you

think

Louis

Nowra

wants

to

convey

in

this

play.

In Cosi, a drama play, I think that the playwright Louis Nowra wants to convey the true meaning of love and fidelity but also help the reader to understand the main issues of society‟s perception of the mentally ill and attitudes toward the Vietnam War. Set in the early 1970s, Cosi is hilarious, yet poignant, look at life through the eyes of patients in an insane asylum who endeavour to mount a production of Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte as part of an

occupational

therapy

program.

Nowra wants to convey the concept of love and fidelity in the play Cosi, as the ideas are linked to the real world. Lewis is clearly not sure about Lucy‟s „modern‟ approach to love and thinks love is “the last gasp of bourgeois romanticism” Lucy said. Lewis‟ views on love are somewhat different from those of Lucy‟s, as he thinks that love and fidelity are important. So when Lucy cheats on Lewis with Nick and thinks nothing of it as they are not married, he doubts the concept of open relationships and free love. The use of the technique a play within a play shows us that love and fidelity are still important and doing Cosi fan tutte make Lewis realises this. The audience see the change in Lewis‟ beliefs and attitudes; change from love and fidelity as inconsequential to life at the beginning of developing the play to a strong believer of love and fidelity. The important message Nowra is trying to

convey

is

that

love

and

fidelity

are

in

any

relationship

and

what

is

life

without

love.

Cosi is not just about conveying the concept of love and fidelity but also to convey the conditions faced by people with a mental illness. During the play, Nowra begins to blur the lines between sanity and insanity by building on the character of Lewis. At the beginning of the play Lewis lacks self confidence and faith in the patients as these people are mad, and only takes up the position as director for the money that will...