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Così by Louis Nowra
COSI
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Three important ideas that Nora
aims to convey in ‘Cosi’:
The inhumanity and ineffectiveness of
the mental health system in 20th Century
Australia.
The insanity of war; the need to
condemn war and to protest against
Australia’s involvement in Vietnam.
The importance of theatre - as a
powerful form of political protest and
as a way of enriching people’s lives with
‘art’.
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Attitudes to mental illness can be seen in
the language of ‘otherness’
People are
labelled as:
•Fool
•Nitwit
•Simpleton
•Imbecile
•Crackpot
•Idiot
•Psycho
•Weirdo
•Maniac
• Moron
•Cretin
•Nutter
Their
actions
are:
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Crazy
Nutty
Insane
Barmy
Mad
Batty
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They
belong in
the:
•Nut house
•Loony bin
•Funny farm
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Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum, in mid 1800s,
was the first Australian mental institution.
Inmates often incarcerated because their
behaviour seen to be a threat to society.
Symptoms included:
alcoholism and homelessness
protracted sleeplessness
persistent headache
great depression or exaltation of spirits
without sufficient cause
By the late 1800s, approximately one in every
four hundred Victorian citizens classified as
insane.
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Psychiatry has had a long history of subjecting patients
to bizarre, dramatic and often barbaric procedures.
Sometimes intended to restrain patients, but
sometimes thought to cure specific conditions
In the 1930s, insulin shock therapy introduced as an
accepted treatment for depression and manic
depression. At the height of its popularity,
administered widely to institutionalised patients.
In the 1940s electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and
frontal lobotomies introduced. Lobotomies were a form
of brain surgery used to pacify patients - now regarded
as barbaric. The use of Lithium salts (rediscovered in
1949 by Australian psychiatrist John Cade) - an attempt
to control mania in chronically hospitalised patients. In
the 1950s, antidepressant drugs arrived - used with a
range of other drugs for sedative or restraining
purposes; stimulants were used to ‘liven up’ patients
with depression.
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Look at the following images of
‘madness’.
How have they been portrayed by
artists and filmmakers?
Why might they be seen in these
disturbing ways?
Is ‘difference’ sometimes socially
unacceptable? Why?
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This is what a ‘room’ in an 18th Century
mental asylum looked like
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This is part of a 20th Century asylum
How might environments like these
affect the inmates?
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Underground sewer...?
Larundel Mental asylum , Victoria; closed in 1990s
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These are some of the methods designed to
control, restrain or cure the mentally ill
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Electro-convulsive therapy
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How it feels to the patient
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Cure or punishment?
The effects of intensive shock therapy – Jack Nicholson in ‘One Flew Over
the Cuckoo's nest”
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‘Productive employment’ for the mentally ill
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Occupational therapy
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Artwork by a mental asylum patient...
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Vincent Van Gogh
Group therapy session
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
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Mockery of the mentally ill? Social
commentary? Affirmation of a common
humanity?
What are Nowra's ideas about mental illness?
How does he convey them?
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Students’ ability to understand, acknowledge and
explore the genre of their selected text is
improving. Responses that focused on Bolt’s use
of the Common Man in his play, the visual
imagery employed by Sarah Watt and even the
way characters’ names supported a greater
understanding in Dickens’s novel, suggested that
insightful discussions are taking place in
classrooms regarding how the construction of a
text adds to its meaning and our understanding.
This knowledge was particularly apparent in the
‘how’ topics which specifically dealt with
structure, including Citizen Kane )i), Generals Die
in Bed”(i) or “In The Sue
Lake
of The Woods’ (i).
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Social issues that concerned Nowra :
 Treatment of Mental illness:
 Frontal lobotomy:
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(“One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”)
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What meaning does Nowra convey through
references to these practices?
In ‘Cosi’, Nowra positions us to condemn the
values of a society which treats its mentally ill
in barbaric condescending ways ...
HOW is this conveyed?
Mentally ill characters are constructed
sympathetically - an implicit condemnation of
the society that has labelled and incarcerated
them and subjected them to inhumane
treatment.
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Social Issues(continued)
 The Vietnam War:
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Nowra’s contact with mental
illness as the director of a play
in an asylum:
 “Cosi Fan Tutte”
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The startling differences between the worlds
explored in the previous slides make us aware of
some of the ironic juxtapositions in “Cosi.”
The squalor and despair of the asylum and the
burnt-out theatre is juxtaposed against the
splendour of grand opera. (Cosi Fan Tutti)
The betrayals in the opera parallel the betrayals in
the play.
The ‘madness’ of the Vietnam war is implicitly
compared with the chaos in the asylum (note the
operatic music accompanying the helicopter assault
– and Nowra refers to Wagner’s music in Cosi. Is
there any significance in this?)
These ironic juxtapositions and parallels show
HOW Nowra conveys some of his ideas.
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The social and political issues Nowra
draws on are central to the meaning/s of
the play:
Through these issues he explores ideas
about :
Sanity & insanity
War
Love
Fidelity and betrayal
He uses a variety of ‘features and
structures’ to convey these (and other)
ideas
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Character:
(constructed to embody ‘themes’ and ideas about individuals
and their relationships and circumstances.)
Setting:
(Historical, cultural, physical... Settings reveal aspects of
character or comment on the nature of society)
Structure:
How is the action of the play organised – and what is the
significance of this? (The juxtapositions and binary
oppositions are part of the structure ... The play within the
play is the most striking structural feature. )
Style:
(generic features: stage directions, dialogue, visual and aural
aspects of the performance on stage)
Imagery / symbolism:
(objects which carry a deeper significance, or the use of
recurring motifs in the play)
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Light & dark
Fire & water
Madness & sanity (chaos & order)
Fidelity & betrayal
Reality & illusion
Gravity & triviality
 (it’s useful for students to make lists and find specific
examples of these)
Binary oppositions create hierarchies in which some
things are valued more than others. Nowra invokes these
oppositions and then undermines them, by blurring
boundaries between them... For example, the line between
sanity and insanity is blurred by the ‘insane’ or irrational
behaviour of ‘sane’ characters (Lewis, Justin) and the
‘normal’ behaviour of inmates such as Julie and Ruth.
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“Lucy: We used to talk about important things ... now all you can
talk about is reactionary drivel like Così Fan Tutte.”
How does Così show modern audiences the contemporary
relevance of Mozart’s eighteenth-century comic opera?
How are ideas about betrayal and loyalty explored through the
structure of the play-within-a-play?
‘The comic irony of Nowra’s play is that the patients in the
asylum are saner than the ‘normal’ characters.’ Discuss. ( Implied:
How does Nowra show us his ideas about insanity)
‘The visual and musical elements in Così are as important as the
dialogue in conveying the play’s central ideas.’ Discuss. (Implied:
How does Nowra show us the equal importance of visual and
musical elements?)
Nowra’s play is set in a “burnt out theatre”. Discuss the
importance of setting and imagery in conveying Nowra’s ideas in
Così. (Implied: How do setting & imagery convey Nowra’s ideas?)
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‘The characters in Mozart’s opera and Nowra’s play
prove the truth of the opera’s title; “women are like
that”.’ Discuss. (Implied: How do the characters
embody these ideas?)
‘Both Così Fan Tutte and Così are trivial comedies
which ignore the important social and political
issues of their times.’ Do you agree? ( Implied: How
do the play and the opera convey ideas about social
and political issues?)
“Justin: The most important thing is to feel you are
in control.”
Does Così suggest that illusions are more powerful
than reality? (Implied: How does it suggest this?)
“Roy: The music of this opera keeps the world in
harmony.”
Why does Mozart’s opera become so important to
the characters in Così? (Implied: How does Nowra
show its importance?)
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The key to a good text response is:
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Unpacking the topic and exploring its implications,
particularly the ‘hidden’ how
AND
Working with a coherent paragraph structure which
asks and answers the following questions:
WHAT aspect of the topic will be referred to by the
assertion in the topic sentence?
WHERE does Nowra provide examples to support the
assertion in the topic sentence
HOW are some of the structures and features of the text
working to strengthen the assertions made about the
topic?
HOW are textual details and features used to convey
MEANING – and what meanings are conveyed?
(link to topic)
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