Louie Nowra’s popular play ‘Cosi’ revived by Newtown’s New Theatre tells one of those stories where a group of disparate people are brought together by a maestro to put on a performance which comes together despite all the odds.
There’s an easy comparison of ‘Cosi’ with the ABC’s documentary series, ‘The Choir of Hard Knocks’. Whereas ‘Hard Knocks’ brought together homeless people to form a choir that ended up performing at the Sydney Opera House, Nowra’s play sees young theatre director Louis get a group of patients from a Melbourne psychiatric hospital to put on a production of Mozart’s great comic opera, ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’.
The New Theatre’s revival under the direction of Travis Green served Nowra’s play well. Green’s production played the play for humour and pathos and it worked well. Sebastian Lamour impressed in the lead role as the stressed out Louis, supported by a strong cast that played a variety of roles including a manic depressive, a junkie, an obsessive-compulsive and a pyromaniac.
Green’s production played the New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown from the 23rd April to the 16th May, 2009.
