Cosi

Cosi
By Louis Nowra. Epicentre Theatre Company. Zenith Theatre, Chatswood. March 23 – 31, 2012.

One of the most popular of Louis Nowra’s works, Cosi is a good play for community theatre. It doesn’t require an elaborate set (a burnt out theatre in an asylum); the characters are very clearly drawn (all but two are inmates of the asylum); and costumes for the Cosi Fan Tutte production scene don’t have to be elaborate. After all, they are supposedly made by other inmates. And whilst ever it remains as a prescribed text for HSC English, it will guarantee an audience.

Epicentre Theatre’s decision to include one play from the English or Drama syllabus in its annual season is financially intelligent, and Cosi is also well-known because of the movie – and its many other productions! It was therefore refreshing to see that director Christine Firkin has taken the play at face value and directed it accordingly. There has been no attempt to jazz up the set or use elaborate costumes for the final scene. The characters stand on their own, each with Nowra’s gentle and quirky insights into the various manifestations of mental illness.

There are some production/design problems: the vocal speed and volume of some actors; sightlines for the audience on stage left because of a curtain hung mid-stage; and the lighting of exits on stage right. But overall the production finds the tempo, humour and poignancy of the play well.

The character of Lewis, recent university graduate commissioned to direct a play at the institution, is a demanding role. He is untrained and unprepared for the task he is undertaking! He has to work with patients suffering from a conglomeration of problems! They have no acting experience and his original choice of play is over-ridden for that of a Mozart opera! On top of this he is dealing with the radical political views of his friends. Aston Campbell plays the naivety of Lewis well. He is bemused, concerned, worried, frightened – and eventually charmed by his ‘motley’ cast. At times he is a little hard to hear – but his body language and expressions make up for this.

Darrel Hoffman, as Roy, the theatre and Mozart enthusiast, originator of the idea of doing a play, is alternatively daffy and aggressive as the role requires, though some of his lovely lines are thrown away almost nonchalantly.

Therese Bean plays the in-your-face, assertive Cherry. She is a strong stage presence and her energy, verve and comic timing sustain the tempo and pace of the action. So too does that of recent high school graduate Darcy Green as the manic pyromaniac Doug. His command of the stage, and the audience, and his energetic  physicalisation of the role are outstanding. He is certainly someone to watch for in future roles.

Of the other characters, two stand out particularly because of the obvious experience of the actors. The obsessive Ruth is played with her usual constancy and attention to detail by Jeannie Gee. The sad, introverted Henry is played quite brilliantly by David Villanti. His internal focus and concentrated energy make the most of every carefully sustained moment of his role.

Epicentre and Christine Firkin should be pleased with this first production of the 2012 season. It moves quickly. The comedy and pathos of the script are sustained. There is some strong characterisation and Mozart’s music swells behind each scene change.

Carol Wimmer

Photographer: Chris Lundie

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