Cosi – Louis Nowra

Cosi is yet another semi autobiographical piece by Louis Nowra.  Did I mention that last time? That Summer of the Aliens was semi autobiographical?  Well it was.  There are quite a few similarities in the two plays (and yes for good reason).  For starters the main character is yet again Lewis, but now it is 1970 and he is a university graduate.  Nowra mostly maintains his style of play writing, however, I was sad to read that he did not include the Narrator voice in Cosi.  The reason behind this we cannot know, although I do speculate that perhaps the narrator in Summer of the Aliens was this older Lewis, but then again probably not.  Not having a narrator does not take away from the theatricality of the play.  What seems to be a theme in these two plays is that they are in fact plays.  In Summer of the Aliens the narrator is used as a tool to remind the audience of the theatre, whereas in Cosi, Nowra uses the idea of a play within a play to get the very same message across.  In fact there are quite a few jibs at the theatre within the play.
Cosi is set amidst the chaos of the Vietnam War (1970) and takes place in a theatre that is part of a mental institution.  Lewis is working as a play director there for money.  Throughout his time there Lewis forms relationships with the patients and begins to learn more about himself and life.
Cosi, like all of the plays I have read so far has a quite basic set.  For me, this excites me.  I think that there is so much that can be done with a blank canvass. 
Summer of the Aliens and Cosi depend upon the time in which they were depicted in order to give the plays more meaning.  Therefore, there are not too many changes that could be made. 
Before today I had never read Cosi, I had heard of it because of Standard English HSC, but it never occurred to me to read it.  So I am glad this project came along and gave me a reason.
I know I am meant to be discovering Australian plays that are virtually unheard of, but for me this running simplicity is engaging and I would like to explore it further.

Alice x.