COSI – Illusion VS. REALITY
SYNONYMS:
fake
false
unreal
deceptive
factual
true
accurate
known
correct
actuality
existence
absoluteness
impression
misconception
delusion
fantasy
hallucination
certainty
present
tangible
confusion
truth
validity
imagination
dream
vision
authentic
realism
Characters
Quotes
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Ruth appears to have a form of obsessivecompulsive disorder, an anxiety disorder. As a
result, she requires reassurance and detailed
directions in order to feel comfortable. She is
preoccupied with blunt and precise truth. She
can’t differentiate between illusion and reality and
is incapable of dealing them simultaneously. She is
comfortable with tangible things. Ruth is
concerned with reality, not able to deal with the
illusion of the coffee and the acting in the theatre.
She provides to the play that the process of
producing the play within the play is to find a more
real reality. As a result of her obsessive compulsive
disorder, she is unable to differentiate between
what she perceives to be reality or fantasy. In
order to overcome this, her direction needs to be
exact so that she can comprehend her role within
the opera.
Roy creates illusion in order to escape the harsh
reality of the past. In his illusion he can find the
happiness he yearns for in his life. Reality did not
provide Roy with love, compassion or any form of
belonging. He is trying to find a sense of normal
reality by joining the production as he wants to be
a part of the outer community, using theatre to
create a new purpose in his life. He feels the need
to create his own ideological memories of his
childhood in an attempt to suppress emotions
regarding abandonment and neglect for support
that everyone so dearly longs for in life.
Zac and Julie both require drugs in order to
complete their lives. She wants to accept reality
but the only way she feels like she is ‘living’ is
through an illusion bought on by drugs
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“I’m not going to sing a song that is not word
perfect. You don’t want me to make a fool of
myself, do you?” p.13
“I can live with illusion as long as I know it’s
illusion…” p.26
“Comedy is better when it’s real” p.61
‘it’s all in my head. Without this the world
wouldn’t be the same’
‘Yes, the more real it is, the more real it is’.
‘this is where I belong.. in the theatre’.
‘we’ll be like Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin’.
“My mother played the music to me over and
over.” p.11
“An illusion of reality. A real illusion in other
words.” p.26
“To you want me to give an illusionary
performance to?” p.28
“Zac likes [drugs] because everything passes like
he’s in a dream or limbo.” p.36
“Drugs make me feel sort of living.” p.37
“Everything is coming alive. Everything matches
my vision.” p.45
“I can’t stand real things. If I could put up with
reality I wouldn’t be in here.” p.62
“I had a dream, Jerry, and it is fading. There would
be music, music of the spheres, colourful
costumes, joie de vivre, a world that was as far
removed from this depressing asylum as possible.
…..That’s the world I wanted ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’ to
capture – recapture.” p.64
“He spent most of his early life in orphanages.”
p.76
Characters
Quotes
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Nick and Lucy represent mainstream society and
their attitudes towards the patients reflect a
general ignorance
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‘I can handle something being an illusion or real
but not at the same time’ p.26
‘You’re doing a fine job of messing with my head’
p.29
‘I have sex with him and sleep with you’ p.71
‘This is my dream, Jerry. My dream’ p.3
Nowra’s challenge, contention, intention
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That sometimes illusion is necessary in order to escape the difficult circumstances that individuals face.
That an illusion is simply reality that has not been made (Roy’s dream of the opera is a manifestation of his
illusionary past)
That to some people, living in an illusion is better than living in reality.
That reality is dealing with the world as how it is and that the world is never fair.
That theatre is an illusion in itself and allows the characters to create their own new reality within the play.
That the world created by illusion is sometimes greater than that of reality.
That the patients use illusion to escape their reality.
That in order to confront personal issues, some people are forced to remove themselves from their lives and seek
solitude in their own fantasy.
That what one person perceives to be real is not necessarily the case for everyone else.
That sometimes it can be very hard to differentiate between hallucination and actuality if you have previously
suffered from a horrible experience or successions of abandonment.
That reality is a choice and in your mind you choose what you decide to accept or not.
That illusion can be a safer place to hide in than reality.
That illusion provides an escape from reality.
That compared to reality, illusion is preferred by the mental patients as it provides an outlet to bring out their
dreams.
That society creates an illusion around the concept of asylums.
That society is under the illusion that those with mental illnesses are ‘crazy’ and ‘out of control’ when in fact, their
mental instability is not that severe
That sometimes society forces people to seek solace through delusions
That those who are considered “sane” can also be delusional (Lewis ignoring the signs of Lucy’s lack of
commitment)
Nowra blurs the lines between reality and illusion and in turn what is socially accepted/not
Nowra is questioning the difference between reality and Illusion
Nowra is suggesting that illusion is an escape from reality
That the methods, standards, and priorities of society are incorrect and unjust
That drugs and illusions are used to become part of ‘our normal society’
That illusion is a more preferable place than reality as reality is full of unrest and problems compared to ones
dreams.
That the patients would rather live in a world that is far from reality in order to feel secure in their environment
rather than face the horrors of reality in the world
That our own perceptions of the physical world raise larger questions about how clear-cut the distinction is
between reality and illusion really is.
The merging of real and illusionary worlds draws strong parallels between art and life, and highlights the
importance of art in our lives.
By blurring the boundaries between illusion and reality, Nowra makes an important connection between art and
life.