There is the world
beyond the stage…
and the world that
materialises upon it.
Così is a play written by Louis
Nowra and is set in Melbourne in
the early 1970s.
Melbourne – 1971 (slide 3)
FLINDERS STREET
ST KILDA
ERROL STREET
Anti-Vietnam War
Protests (slide 5)
• America declared open
Involvement in the War in 1964
• In 1965 American men were
drafted into the Army. This
increased from 3,000 to 33,000 a
month. People began to protest
by ripping up or burning draft
papers.
• The world was convinced that
America would ‘win’ the war
quickly, but when casualty
numbers rose, so too did the
opposition to the war.
• Anti-war sentiment began to gain
further support with the Hippy slogan
“Make Love Not War”
At 18 you were eligible for conscription.
You had to be 21 at that time to vote.
Australia joined America’s War
• This was the first war to be broadcast on
television, and the world could witness the
horror of warfare, napalm and the execution of
civilians including the elderly and children
• Many believed that the Americans had no right
to be in Vietnam, and by the same token, neither
did Australia.
Women’s Rights
Movements (slide 9)
• Women were paid less money to do the same job as a man
• In the 1960s women were paid only 59% of what a man was paid
• Women rallied against the restrictions and rules that had been
placed upon them for years, with many burning bras and refusing to
shave body hair, as they felt that these things were symbols of the
male repression of females.
Psychiatric Institutions/Hospitals for
the Insane/Asylums (Slide 10)
• Psychiatric institutions were first
established in Australia in the mid 1800s.
• Many patients were institutionalised for
life.
• They experienced a variety of illnesses
including post-natal depression,
schizophrenia, epilepsy, bipolar disorder
and dementia.
Treatment of the mentally ill
• Many people were placed in asylums
because there were not effective
treatments for mental disorders or
illnesses available.
• Asylums were generally not pleasant
places as they were often more like
prisons than hospitals.
Cosi is based on the Mont Park
Asylum here in Melbourne which
closed in the late 1990s.
Mental Illnesses in the play
(slide 12)
•
•
•
•
•
The next five slides will give a brief
description of the following mental
illnesses:
Manic depression
Pyromania
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Drug addiction
Catatonia
Manic depression
(Bipolar disorder)
A condition in which people experience abnormally
elevated (manic) and abnormally depressed states for
periods of time in a way that interferes with
functioning.
• Manic episode = a distinct period of an elevated
(extremely happy) mood. People commonly
experience an increase in energy and a decreased
need for sleep. Attention span is low, judgment may
become impaired, and sufferers may go on spending
sprees or engage in behaviour that is quite abnormal
for them. People may feel out of control or
unstoppable, or as if they have been "chosen" and are
"on a special mission" or have other delusional ideas.
• Depressive episode = persistent feelings
of sadness, anxiety, guilt, anger, isolation,
or hopelessness, disturbances in sleep and appetite
and many others.
Pyromania
• An impulse control disorder.
• An impulse to deliberately start fires to
relieve tension or for gratification or relief.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• An anxiety disorder characterised by
obsessive thoughts and compulsive
actions.
• Obsession: Unwanted, intrusive thoughts
that cause fear, anxiety, worry and
uneasiness.
• Compulsion: A repeated behaviour that is
engaged in to relieve the anxiety caused
by the obsessions.
For example: A person has obsessions about germs so
repeatedly washes their hands to relieve the anxiety
associated with germs.
Drug addiction
(Substance abuse/dependence)
• The overindulgence in and dependence on
a drug or other chemical.
• Leads to effects that are detrimental to the
individual's physical and mental health, or
the welfare of others
Treatments for mental illness
(slide 17)
Electroshock therapy (electroconvulsive therapy):
Patients are given muscle relaxants and
anaesthetic. Electrodes are connected to the
temples and an electric current is shot
through the brain, causing a seizure. This is
only used for severe cases of depression
where other medications and treatments
have not worked.
In the timeframe of Cosi, this therapy was very painful,
as patients were not always given anaesthetic and
higher levels of electricity were used.
Treatments for mental illnesses
continued...
• Lobotomies: an operation in which the
connections between the frontal lobes and rest
of the brain are severed, causing ‘mental
dullness’ – often a lowering of inhibitions, lack of
cognitive processing, and sometimes even an
inability to function independently.
• Lobotomies were used to treat many different
types of mental illnesses, including anxiety,
depression and schizophrenia. The procedure
was also performed on people who were
considered extremely emotional, difficult to
handle or simply "moody."
Treatments for mental illnesses
continued...
• Lithium salts: Used medically as a mood
stabilising drug. Particularly for disorders such
as bipolar disorder, mania and depression.
Australian psychiatrist John Cade first used them
in
treating mania in institutionalised patients in 1949.
This opened the door for other medications to be
developed to treat mental illness.
• In Così, the character of Zac is addicted to lithium.
The style of Così
The style of Così includes characteristics of
the following types of play:
1.Black humour
2.Farce
Style: Black humour (slide 21)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neCY4hh1wJg
Style: Black humour
Examples:
• South Park
• Family Guy
• Robot Chicken
• Futurama
• Monty Python
Style: Farce
(Slide 23)
• Unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise
and mistaken identity and verbal humour of varying degrees
of sophistication.
• A fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases, culminating
in an ending which often involves an elaborate chase scene.
• Physical humour and the use of deliberate absurdity or
nonsense.
• Many farces move at a frantic pace toward the climax, in
which the initial problem is resolved one way or another, often
through a twist of the plot.
• Generally, there is a happy ending.
A play is a performance! Not just
a text to be read. (slide 24)
• Nowra intended this text to be seen by an
audience, not to be read like a novel.
• Unlike a novel, meaning is created in a
different way in a play.
Read the passage on the next slide from a novel.
In groups of 3, you must attempt to ‘perform’ this scene,
and maintain and generate the same feeling and meaning
produced by the original text.
Remember to consider:
- Tone of voice
- Dialogue
- Volume
- Positioning on stage
- Height
- Movement/gesture
These elements will
influence the way the
audience will
perceive/understand your
scene, characters, and
overall message.
As the teacher entered the room, the
atmosphere suddenly changed. Every
head turned towards the door; Mr. Smith
was the most feared teacher in the
school.
Now watch part of the trailer for
Inside Out