The Lewis Trilogy

Summer of the Aliens, Cosi, This Much is True

Louis Nowra

• Publisher: Currency Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781760622824
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

Spanning five decades from 1962 to 2017, The Lewis Trilogy follows Louis Nowra's occasional hero, sometime narrator and perennial misfit, Lewis, as he struggles to find and understand his place in the changing world around him.%##CHAR13##%%##CHAR13##%In Summer of the Aliens, Lewis is a young man on the cusp of adulthood, growing up in a Melbourne housing commission. Set against the backdrop of the Cuban missile crisis, the play is a coming-of-age story about sex and family, alien invasions, and suburban tragedies played out behind closed doors.%##CHAR13##%%##CHAR13##%In Così, Lewis is fresh out of university and directing Mozart's Così fan tutte with the inmates of a mental institution. As anti-Vietnam protests take place in the streets outside, Lewis finds himself stepping off the sidelines to become emotionally involved with his actors' lives.%##CHAR13##%%##CHAR13##%In This Much is True, Lewis is a writer 'between divorces' and temporarily adrift among the outsiders and dropouts of an inner-city Sydney pub. Older, and possibly wiser, Lewis is once more drawn into a world of colourful characters, all of them searching for magic in the mundane.%##CHAR13##%%##CHAR13##%Lewis' constant search for connection plays out against the evolving hopes and battles of Australian society — just like us, only more extraordinary.

ACT ONE

SCENE ONE

A burnt-out theatre. It is day outside but pitch black inside the theatre. A heavy door opens, a chink of daylight enters, as do three people: LEWIS, his girlfriend LUCY and his friend NICK.

LUCY: Where are the lights?

LEWIS: Don’t know.

NICK: Maybe over there.

The door slams shut.

Damn! [Fiddling with the lock] Christ, it’s locked from the inside.

LEWIS: I thought I saw a switch over there.

They fumble in the darkness for a light switch.

NICK: Smells like it hasn’t been used in years.

LUCY: Burnt wood and mould. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?

LEWIS: I need the money, Lucy.

NICK accidentally touches LUCY who cries out in alarm.

NICK: [enjoying this] It’s a ghost.

LUCY: Nick, just find the light!

NICK: All theatres have ghosts.

LUCY: I can’t believe you’re going to do a show here.

NICK: Mad actors are bad enough, but madmen …

LEWIS: You said you were going to help me.

NICK: As long as you do Galileo with me.

LUCY: I wish you boys would learn to drive, I’m late for my tutorial.

There is the sound of breaking glass.

NICK: [nervously] What’s that?

LUCY: Someone’s breaking in.

NICK: Who is it? Who’s there?

ROY: [nervously] Is that you, Justin?

LEWIS: No.

ROY: Who is it? Who’s there? Answer me!

LUCY: [relieved] Found it!

The lights go on. A dismal hall is revealed. A silence as they stare at one another.

ROY: How did you get in?

LEWIS: The door.

ROY: It was locked when I checked it this morning. That’s why I broke in. Didn’t want to be late.

LEWIS: The superintendent gave me the key. Are you the social worker?

ROY: No, I’m a patient.

LUCY: I have to go now. See you at home, Lewis.

NICK: Lucy! Wait! I’m coming with you.

LEWIS: But you were going to help me.

NICK: [taking him aside] I will, but I just remembered I have to meet my thesis supervisor. He’s on my back because I’m spending so much time organising the moratorium.

LUCY: Nick, I don’t have much time.

NICK: Coming! [To LEWIS] Don’t forget the Galileo rehearsals.

He goes after LUCY. LEWIS feels betrayed. He and ROY, shy of one another, are silent until ROY decides to break it.

ROY: This is where I belong: in the theatre.

LEWIS nods, not knowing what to say. JUSTIN ANDERSON enters.

JUSTIN: Morning, Roy. [To LEWIS] And what ward are you from?

LEWIS: I’m not from a ward. I’m the director—

JUSTIN: Lewis Riley?

LEWIS: Yes.

ROY: I was expecting someone a bit older.

JUSTIN: Justin Anderson. Everyone calls me Justin. I’m the socia...