Cosi

NOW CONSIDERED to be a classic Australian comedy, Louis Nowra’s 1992 play is familiar territory for actors and theatregoers alike as it receives regular airings on the community theatre stage throughout Australia.

Of course revivals of the 1996 film which starred Ben Mendelsohn, Toni Colette, Rachel Griffiths and Jackie Weaver amongst others have contributed a great deal to the lasting quality of the work, and this version has an enjoyable overall quality, featuring some extremely strong performances from several actors.

Set of course in a mental institution, the play is a semi-autobiographical work about a recent university graduate in the 1970s who takes on the task of directing an assortment of mental patients in an adaptation of Mozart’s opera Cosi Fan Tutte. It is based on Nowra’s own experience of directing Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury at Melbourne’s Plenty Mental Hospital in 1971.

The play is set against a background of anti-Vietnam protests, “free love” and what now seems dated attitudes to mental health, where the play really does work is when it is firmly set in its time. Unfortunately, many directors fall into that all-too-severe trap of viewing a period piece like this through the lens of today rather than considering it to be a reflection of the time in which it set.

In tackling this funny yet poignant story, director Katherine Shield has made a concerted effort to be observant of the times. She also successfully cast a number of women in men’s roles, and managed to preserve the illusion – itself a theme of the play. Adding to the sense of absurdity was the proliferation of bellbottoms, safari suits and other 70s fashion horrors.

This a warm and generous script with great appeal and while this production was hampered occasionally with some uneven pace, on the whole it featured many delightful moments and several strong performances.

As Lewis, the erstwhile director, Ben Henderson gave a striking performance as the Nowra character. Here is a strong young actor who has been developing his skills with each successive recent performance.

Of course, playing an array of patients in a mental institution offers up an interesting acting choice. The actors can either lapse into caricature or take advantage of a gilded opportunity to produce fine portrayals of eccentric characters. Thankfully, for the most part the latter was true of this production.

There’s the manic-depressive Roy (a strong performance from Glenn Shield) who has always dreamed of a production of Cosi Fan Tutte to remind him of his distant youth. There’s the pyromanic, Doug, who constantly confronts others with graphic sexual innuendo (played with direct relish by Anamari Goicoechea); the obsessive-compulsive Ruth - Morgan Eldridge in a delightful fluttery comic performance; there’s the silent former lawyer Henry (Rick Dart) and Julie the junkie, played without any unnecessary embellishment by Amaya Lejarraga.

However, making possibly the boldest and loudest statement of the performance was Abbie Lee as Cherry, the girl with a fixation for food and who doesn’t care how others consume it, and whose growing obsession with Lewis the director borders on stalking. This was a scene-stealing performance. Her complete and fully-rounded character dominated the performance, not only because she played an overbearing character but also because she had complete understanding of the role and delivered it with a comic timing way beyond her years. Doubtless we will be seeing more of this young performer.

This production was an interesting bittersweet milestone for Townsville Little Theatre, which has been operating in Townsville for the last 50 years. Cosi was one of the first plays staged in 1999 by TLT at Pimpac Theatre (located at Pimlico State School), and sadly it has become the last production staged here as the theatre is to be re-purposed as a library next year. The theatre company is yet to find a regular home to stage its performances.

Trevor Keeling

Photographer: Bridie Shield.