Cosi | THAT Production Company & Mira Ball
There’s always a thrilling sense of anticipation when you’re sitting in the seating bank, waiting for a show to start that you’re quite fond of. Your heart starts racing in a different way and you feel yourself start to blush as you realise that you quite probably look like a teenage girl about to watch a One Direction concert. Although, that reference might be a bit outdated. Louis Nowra has always been one of my favourite playwrights – if not my favourite. I remember when I first stumbled upon Cosi at a second-hand bookstore and started reading through the pages on aisle six. Even though I’d only skimmed a few lines, I was already in awe of the way Nowra could create such depth and realness to his characters and how he didn’t shy away from using the characters as a looking glass for us to reflect on our ourselves. And whilst it may not be my favourite Nowra play, if such thing exists, I’ve always had a soft spot for Cosi and have seen many a company put it on, both community and professional. Some, I felt, missed the mark and some got close to the mark but missed a few steps along the way. However, this production hit the mark for me.
Image (and cover image): Tom Antonio
Presented by THAT Production Company and Mira Ball Productions, I can safely say that this production has been one of, if not my favourite, pieces of theatre I’ve seen all year. Admittedly, I haven’t seen as much theatre as I would have wanted to because our good old friend covid hit pause or cancel on a lot of things. However, being a theatre critic for two wonderful platforms, I still get to see my fair share and I must say that this production was the cherry that rose to the top.
I think I say this in every review that I write which Timothy Wynn directs, but I’m such a big fan of his direction. I became a fan when he directed me in a student theatre production a few years back because I love the way he brings about the intricacies in each character and finds ways to showcase these intricacies in the way a character sits, from the way they drag their feet on the floorboards, to the way their eyes change expression. My favourite moments in the play were when the characters were sitting in their respective chairs in silence, fiddling with their hair, staring off into the distance, tapping their foot or eating. It was in those moments that we got invited to watch the gears turn inside of the characters heads.
Image: Tom Antonio
The cast was sublime. There was not one actor that was better than the other. Maybe that sounds cliché but it’s the truth. They were a tight knit ensemble, which was exactly what a play like Cosi needs. Karen Crone’s brought a level of vulnerability to Roy, despite his witty quips and over-the-top persona and Elodie Boal’s Cherry was played with such naivety, warmth and colour that you couldn’t help but fall in love with the character’s protagonist and root for her happy ending. Whilst he didn’t have as many lines or stage time as the other cast members, every line, movement or facial expression Stephen Hirst did as Zac made me laugh so hard that I genuinely thought my lungs were going to explode. From the indecent clothing, to the commentaries on Mozart’s lack of depth of emotion to playing the accordion; it was brilliant.
It was only when I left the theatre, switched on my phone and was about to start writing down my notes for this review, did I realise that the show ran for two hours without intermission. It truly didn’t feel like it, although it may have for the people on either side of me who had to deal with my loud, obnoxious laughter on a loop. God, I’d forgotten how funny this play was.
Their season is sold-out but I really hope it returns in 2021 as need to be reminded of what it is to love, to feel, to laugh and to be human. I don’t normally rate shows for Nothing Ever Happens In Brisbane, but if I did, then I’d give it a five and a half stars.
