Cosi

Così

Louis Nowra

Currency Press • Sydney

Table of Contents

Title Page
Copyright Page
Playwright’s Biography
First Production
Characters
Setting
Playwright’s Note: Trial by Madmen

Act One

Scene One
Scene Two
Scene Three
Scene Four

Act Two

Scene One
Scene Two
Scene Three
Scene Four
Scene Five

www.currencypress.com.au

CURRENCY PLAYS
First published in 1992 by
Currency Press Pty Ltd
PO Box 2287
Strawberry Hills NSW 2012
www.currencypress.com.au
[email protected]

Reprinted 1995 (twice), 1996, 1997 (twice), 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (twice), 2011

Copyright © Louis Nowra, 1994

First electronic edition published in 2012 by Currency Press Pty Ltd.

Copying for Educational Purposes

The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10% of this book, whichever is the greater, to be reproduced and/or communicated by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that educational institution (or the body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. For details of the CAL licence for educational institutions contact CAL, Level 15, 233 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW, 2000. Tel: (02) 9394 7600; email: [email protected]

Copying for Other Purposes

Except as permitted under the Act, for example a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review, all rights are reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

Performing Rights

Any performance or public reading of Così is forbidden unless a licence has been received from the author or the author’s agent. The purchase of this book in no way gives the purchaser the right to perform the play in public, whether by means of a staged production or a reading. All applications for public performance should be made to the author, c/o HLA Management, PO Box 1536, Strawberry Hills NSW 2012, email [email protected] ; ph: +612 9549 3000

Printed book ISBN: 9780868194035

ePub ISBN: 9781921428647

Cover design by Trevor Hood

Front cover shows Barry Otto and Ben Mendelsohn. Back cover shows the final scene. Both photos from the Belvoir St Production. Photos by Stuart Spence

Playwright’s Biography

LOUIS NOWRA was born in Melbourne. His plays include Page 8 (with David Page), The Woman With Dog’s Eyes, The Marvellous Boy, The Emperor of Sydney, Inner Voices, Visions, Inside the Island, The Precious Woman, Sunrise, The Golden Age, Capricornia, Byzantine Flowers, The Watchtower, Summer of the Aliens, Così, Radiance, The Temple, Crow, Miss Bosnia, The Incorruptible, The Jungle and The Language of the Gods. He has translated The Prince of Homburg, Cyrano de Bergerac and Lulu for the stage. He has also written the libretti for Whitsunday and Love Burns. For television he has written Displaced Persons, Hunger and The Lizard King and for film Map of the Human Heart, Così, Heaven’s Burning, Radiance, K-19: The Widowmaker and Black and White. His radio plays include Albert Names Edward, The Song Room, The Widows, Sydney and The Divine Hammer. Other writings include nonfiction works: The Cheated, Warne’s World and Walkabout (in Currency’s Australian Screen Classics series); five novels: The Misery of Beauty, Palu, Red Nights, Abaza and Ice, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Miles Franklin Award; and two memoirs: The Twelfth of Never and Shooting the Moon. Nowra has won multiple awards and prizes, and lives in Sydney.