Cosi sets a crazy stage

The world of theatre can be a strange one, but Waikato University's latest production brings a new level of crazy to the stage.

Cosi, set in early 1970s Australia, tells the story of a young, inexperienced university student named Lewis. Needing money, he takes on a difficult job in a "mental hospital" - directing patients in a stage version of a Mozart opera.

"It's a really interesting play in that it explores different worlds," said Gaye Poole, theatre studies lecturer at Waikato University and Cosi director. The play itself is an example of what she calls "meta-theatre" - not only is there a play within the play, but the stage is the theatre itself. When the characters are rehearsing, and later performing Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, they appear on a smaller stage set within the scene.

Poole last year directed the popular The Laramie Project, also based at Waikato University.

"This is very different - it's a fictional play, but it does use a known set of events as the background," said Poole.

Several of the cast from The Laramie Project have returned for Cosi, including Richard Homan as the protagonist. He didn't initially see himself playing Lewis, but soon found it was the role he fit best.

The role of Henry - an introspective older man deathly afraid of singing - is played by Clive Lamdin, a veteran of Hamilton choral group the Renaissance Singers.

Cosi, written by Australian author and playwright Louis Nowra, was adapted for the screen in 1996.

Unlike the movie, Poole said her production will be faithful to Nowra's original text.

"We're doing it as stated which is in 1971, against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the social changes that were going on at the time," she said. Poole and the cast watched a film of Cosi fan tutte in order to fully understand Nowra's play.

– The premiere will be tomorrow at the university's Tauranga campus, playing for two nights, before continuing in Hamilton at Waikato University's New Place Theatre from August 16 to 18.