What I Wrote: Louis Nowra A STUDY GUIDE BY KATY MARRINER Snodger Media and Ronin Films http://www.theeducationshop.com.au Introduction and 1920s China, before his focus shifted to Australian events and per- This study guide to accompany What sonalities. Nowra’s plays include Inner I Wrote: Louis Nowra has been written Voices, Albert Names Edward, Visions, for senior secondary students. It pro- The Golden Age, Capricornia, Lan- vides information and suggestions for guage of the Gods, Crow, The Incor- learning activities in English, Literature, ruptible, The Boyce Trilogy, Radiance Theatre Studies and Drama. and the semi-autobiographical Summer of the Aliens and Cosi. What I Wrote: Louis Nowra is a short film about Australian playwright Louis While Nowra is known for his plays, Nowra. Dr Tess Brady interviews Nowra he has also written four novels: The and provides a critical introduction Misery of Beauty, Palu, Red Nights and to The Golden Age, Cosi, Radiance, Abaza. Nowra has written two memoirs Language of the Gods and The Boyce The Twelfth of Never and Shooting the Trilogy. What I Wrote: Louis Nowra Moon. His non-fiction works include also includes a discussion of many of The Cheated, Warne’s World and Bad Nowra’s other plays and an investiga- Dreaming. Nowra’s screenwriting cred- tion of his approach to writing. its include Map of the Human Heart, The Matchmaker, Cosi, K-19: The Wid- What I Wrote: Louis Nowra is one owmaker, Heaven’s Burning, Twisted title from a four-part series spotlight- Tales: Directly From My Heart to You, ing Australian playwrights. The series Black and White and Radiance. Nowra offers students information about the has also held administrative positions ideas and processes of the playwrights, in several theatre companies. as well as the opportunity to hear what the playwrights have to say about their About the filmmakers work. Other titles available in the What I Wrote series include: Dr Tess Brady – Presenter Dr Tess Brady is a highly respected • What I Wrote: Matt Cameron editor, researcher and teacher of writ- • What I Wrote: Hannie Rayson ing at university level. She was the • What I Wrote: Katherine Thomson co-founding editor of the international online scholarly journal TEXT and has Further information about the series published children’s picture books, can be found at <http://www. adult radio drama, crime fiction, short whatiwrote.com.au>. stories and popular non-fiction. Her most recent publication is Creative Louis Nowra Writing: Theory beyond practice, with Louis Nowra was born Mark Doyle Nigel Krauth. on 12 December 1950. He changed his name to Louis Nowra in the early Catherine Gough-Brady 1970s. Nowra studied at Melbourne’s – Director La Trobe University but left before earn- Catherine Gough-Brady is a documen- ing a degree. He worked at a variety tary filmmaker. She has made works of jobs until his plays began to attract for a variety of media. Gough-Brady attention in the mid 1970s. has produced and directed educational videos and web sites. Her ‘docugame’ Nowra is an acclaimed and prolific Docks Dispute <http://www.docks playwright who has changed the way dispute.com> is currently used in Australians view theatre. The Nowra tertiary management and industrial stage tends to show audiences the relations courses. unexpected, as it explores his personal vision of complex concerns such as settlement, colonialism and disposses- sion. His early plays were set in remote times and places – eighteenth century Russia, nineteenth century Paraguay Using What I Wrote: ‘I didn’t want to be an Australian • What type of people do you meet in Louis Nowra playwright. I wanted to be a world Nowra’s plays? playwright.’ in the classroom – Louis Nowra Views and Values ‘His overarching theme is the end of Teachers may select from the following • Nowra’s plays offer locations from empire and he’s fascinated with what activities to support students’ viewing the exotic through to the suburban. happens to people when it all starts and close analysis of What I Wrote: Working in small groups, investigate crumbling away.’ Louis Nowra. the use of location in one of Nowra’s – Dr Tess Brady plays. Present the results of your The writer’s context investigation to the class. ‘He asks who are we when everything ‘I’m a working-class boy who came is stripped away.’ from a housing commission estate.’ • ‘There’s not much naturalism in his – Dr Tess Brady – Louis Nowra world.’ – Dr Tess Brady ‘Does art have to be relevant to the • In What I Wrote: Louis Nowra, Nowra times?’ recalls his first experience of the Naturalism is the re-creation of real – Louis Nowra theatre. When did you first visit the life or life as it is onstage. It seeks to theatre to see what Nowra labels a reproduce realistic characters, situa- • Drawing on What I Wrote: Louis Now- ‘straight play’? tions or conflicts and usually occurs in ra and your knowledge of Nowra’s real time with sets, props and cos- plays, make a list of the ideas that • Nowra has not hesitated to use his tumes that are representative of the Nowra has brought to audiences’ at- own life as source material for his situation, place or period. Drawing on tention. plays. Research the life and times of one of Nowra’s plays, find evidence to Nowra. contribute to a discussion of Nowra’s • Use the internet, critical essays and rejection of naturalism in favour of commentaries to compile a detailed • Drawing on one of Nowra’s plays, more non-naturalistic theatre. summary of the contexts that shape determine how Nowra’s experi- Nowra’s work as a playwright. Dis- ence of and attitudes to the world in • Nowra expresses his disapproval of cuss your findings with others in the which he lives have influenced the ‘cardigan dramas’ in What I Wrote: class. construction of the text. Work in a Louis Nowra. He believes that small group to complete the analysis. theatre should not be commonplace • What I Wrote: Louis Nowra claim- Develop a PowerPoint presentation but rather unusual andsurprising. sthat Nowra writes about the fall of to communicate this information to Nowra dresses his ideas carefully. empires. Is this true of the play that the class. Drawing on a Nowra play that you you are studying? know well, discuss Nowra’s decision The worlds of the plays to offer his audiences the spec- • Why do you think Nowra uses war as ‘I don’t want to see worlds that similar tacular, the quirky, the odd and the a platform to explore complex ideas to my own. I want a different world.’ unexpected. and issues? – Louis Nowra • Is it necessary for art to be relevant? Cosi What is Nowra’s attitude to writing It is 1971 and Lewis, a young direc- about contemporary events and tor, agrees to stage a production of politics? Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte with a cast of patients from a mental institution. Critical perspectives There is no orchestra, no one can sing • Use the internet, critical commentar- and the theatre is nothing more than a ies and reviews to arrive at a detailed burnt out shell. Beyond the walls of the knowledge and understanding of the institution, citizens march against their critical reception of Nowra’s writing. government’s involvement in a war and What viewpoints do you support? Lewis’ relationship falters. As the pro- What viewpoints do you refute? duction lurches forward, Lewis realizes it doesn’t hurt to be a little crazy. The Plays The Golden Age • Poignant or hilarious? Endorse your interpretation with evidence from the ‘At the core of The Golden Age is a play. plea for harmony.’ – Dr Tess Brady • How does Nowra portray mental ill- ness? The Golden Age is an epic play about two young hikers who discover a lost • ‘One of the virtues of the play is that community in the forests of Tasmania. you learn to love the characters.’ The tribe has developed its own cul- – Louis Nowra ture and language during its time in the wilderness. Assimilation brings clashes Share your thoughts about the with the culture and expectations of a characters of Cosi with others in your modern Australia. class. • William: And what material did he • By the end of the play, Lewis is no have? Criminals, retards, the lost, longer afraid of madness. Discuss. the desperate. [Smiling] So what we have before us is the true Australian • What was the nature of Australian culture. society and its values in the 1970s? How do the characters in Cosi em- What does The Golden Age have to body or react against the prevailing say about Australian culture? views and values of the time? • ‘A story of personal struggle, social • View the film Cosi (Mark Joffe, 1996). limitations and most of all love.’ Do Which version of Cosi do you prefer? you agree? Why? • Nowra’s interest in language and Radiance the teaching of language was in part prompted by a childhood accident. Radiance tells the story of three sisters He recollects the process of learning who return to their childhood home on how to speak again in What I Wrote: the eve of their mother’s funeral. The Louis Nowra. As you view Brady’s sisters’ bonds are complex and compli- interview with Nowra, compile a list cated because of the secrets and lies of statements that explain Nowra’s that are part of their past and present. interest in this subject. Cressy, Mae and Nona’s reunion is an occasion of grief, celebration and • Were you surprised by Nowra’s ad- reconciliation.