Characters 

Lewis

(20 – 30-Year-old Male)

A 21-year-old university graduate who takes the job as the director of Cosi Fan Tutte for money. By the end of the play, he dramatically changes, and the experience of meeting and working with the mental patients has taught him a lot about himself and his view of the world.

Roy

(50 – 70-Year-old Male)

Roy really loves theatre and is the driving force behind the institution’s production of Cosi Fan Tutte. A great enthusiast when he gets going. He has his down periods like a lot of people, but he’s your support, your natural energizer. Roy suffers from mood swings, i.e. his moods fluctuate between manic (excitable, erratic, impulsive) and depressed.

“Love is what you feel when you don’t have enough emotion left to hate … hate is a much more pure emotion … you have enemies for life, but never lovers.” (Roy, p61).

Julie

(20 – 30-year-old Woman)

She young woman who is drug dependent and was sent to the asylum by her parents. Among all patients, Julie seems the most self-aware. She is attracted to Lewis, and her feelings are returned by him. The peak of their relationship is the kiss in the theatre during the blackout.

“That’s what love is, being foolish.’ (p61)

Ruth

(30 – 40-Year-Old Woman)

A woman who suffers from OCD and she is preoccupied with reality and illusion. In the beginning, she finds it difficult to handle both concepts at the same time (‘I can handle something being an illusion or real but not at the same time’ (p26)). Therefore, she does not know how to ‘act’ on the stage. Ruth cares much about very small and irrational details, such as whether the ‘coffee’ used in the opera is real or not; or exactly how many steps to move on the stage.

Towards the end of the play, Ruth becomes self-confident and begins to stand up for herself.

Cherry

(20 – 30-year-old Woman)

Cherry has bad memories from childhood when her dad uses her for duck hunting. She is emotionally volatile, and usually threatens to use violence, particularly against Doug, who causes troubles for the production, and Julie as her love competitor. She has a strong affection for Lewis, trying to feed him and get close to him, and even promising to be ‘true’ and ‘faithful’ to him.

Doug

(20 – 30-year-old Man)

He is the most dangerous character in the cast and causes obstacles to the production. Eg: He sets fire in the toilets, which makes the opera nearly/almost cancelled. He has an unresolved problem in the past with his mum, and in order to hurt her, he burns her house. He likes to act tough and use very rude language, often offending people. Of all the patients, it is Doug who changes least in the play

“This theatre would have burnt like a real beauty. [A beat.] My motto is to try and try again.” (p85)

Henry

(40 – 50-year-old Man)

In the beginning, Henry (a retired lawyer) seems to suffer some form of social phobia. He is shy and hardly says anything. Initially, Henry does not get involved in the opera. He just wants to leave the theatre but is forced to stay by Roy.

The turning point is when Lewis agrees to replace the Albanian communists in the opera by the Australian soldiers. Henry then feels far more comfortable since he thinks his dad is respected, and starts practicing Cosi Fan Tutte. Gradually, he shows a greater interest in the opera.

Zac

(20 – 30 – Year – old Man)

A patient who takes the part of a musician for Così fan Tutte. He prefers to play Wagner over Mozart, which sparks a dispute between himself and Roy. Zac is passionate about music and plays the piano and piano accordion (it is preferred that the actor can play the piano, but not mandatory. Piano accordion would be a bonus).

Justin

(20 – 40-year-old Male)

A social worker at the institution who oversees the project. He represents the impersonal, bureaucratic side of society’s view on mental illness, often with a patronizing attitude towards the patients.

Nick

(20 – 30-year-old Male)

Lewis’s best friend and an extreme left-wing political activist who shares Lucy’s views. He is judgemental towards the patients and prioritizes politics over Lewis’s art, viewing the patients as a nuisance to the ‘real world’

Lucy

20 – 30-year-old Woman

Lewis’s political activist girlfriend, who is focused on the anti – Vietnam War protest. She struggles to understand why Lewis would waste his time directing a play about love instead of focusing on larger social issues.