Cosi

Cosi is the star, David Berthold’s superlative cast and crew make it scintillate.

It illuminates theMake Love Not War 1970s revolution. Without proselytising, Nowra’s characters illustrate the major issues.

Recent university graduate, Lewis (Ben Schostakowski), accepts a job in a mental institution where he is expected to ‘put on a show’. Dominant mature thespian, Roy (Trevor Stuart), with a passion for Mozart, has already assembled inmates for the opera, Cosi FanTutte. Conflict from the outset!

Oversexed and amoral, pyromaniac Doug (Aaron Davison) offers Lewis his advice on sexual behaviour while terrorising other cast members. The only way sweet-but-dangerous, overweight Cherry (Amy Ingram) can show her attraction to Lewis is by ‘feeding him up’. Obsessive-compulsive Ruth (Jennifer Flowers) gets caught between reality and illusion. James Stewart’s Henry (ex-lawyer, now a stutterer with an apparently withered arm) bursts back to life when ‘communism’ is mentioned. All touching performances.

Jessica Marais portrays Julie (whose rich parents committed her for taking drugs), as well as Lewis’s girlfriend Lucy, involved with organising a Moratorium against the Viet Nam war.  Even busier was Anthony Standish who managed three busy characters (Zac, musical accompanist for the non-opera; Lewis’s mate, Nick, who has an affair with Lucy while Lewis obsesses with his drama commitment; and patronising administrator of the asylum, Justin).

Audiences can take away as much or as little of what made it their great night out!

Jay McKee

BUY THE SCRIPT HERE.

Images: (top) Benjamin Schostakowski and Jessica Marais & (lower) the company. Photographer: Dylan Evans