AFTER a disappointing postponement back in May due to COVID, Beechworth Theatre Company is thrilled to present four performances next weekend of Louis Nowra’s heart-warming and hilarious play 'Cosi' in the Beechworth Memorial Hall.

The company had to “pull the pin” on the May dates prior to opening night, and by consensus, the cast and crew decided to persevere and go ahead with the production later in the year.

As cast member Mack Oswald said, “It was a decision made for the good of all – the company, the actors, the crew and most importantly, our audiences.”

Nowra’s semi-autobiographical story is set in a Melbourne mental institution in 1971 and explores the themes of friendship, romance, community and difference, as it follows the journey of Lewis; (played by Mack Oswald) a young man fresh out of university, who is employed by the institution to direct a drama production with the patients.

The crazy, heart-warming comedy features troubled but lovable characters and biting social commentary, particularly on the continuing double standards on expectations of love and fidelity for men and for women; on social and gender stereotypes, and on the definition of “madness”.

With the backdrop of new ideas in psychiatry in the 1970s, the sexual revolution, the women's liberation movement, and an Australia deeply divided by its involvement in the Vietnam War, Lewis finds himself having to decide what’s more meaningful in his life; his friends from university and their political activism, or his chance to make a difference in the lives of his actors.

It is indeed partly a ‘coming of age’ story of a young man as he struggles to cope in a situation that is way over his head and tests his ideas of friendship and the relative importance of ‘the greater good’ versus immediate personal relationships.

BTC Director Janet Tweedie said she decided to keep the language and dialogue of the play in its original 1970s form that shows, sometimes rather confrontingly, how very different Australia and our attitudes were back then.

“After much discussion, we decided not to sanitise it, for after all, if we don’t know our history, we cannot learn from it," she said.

There will be four performances over next weekend - Friday, July 21 at 7.30pm, Saturday, July 22 at 2pm and 7.30pm and Sunday July 23, at 2pm.

People who hold tickets from the original May dates are invited to just turn up to the Beechworth Memorial Hall before the performance of their choice to have their tickets honoured. For those who wish to purchase tickets for the first time, they are $30 at the door or available from stickytickets.com.au.