FORMER Northam resident Pat McMahon is joining a manic depressive, a junkie, an overeater, a doped-up musician, an obsessive compulsive and a pyromaniac this May in an effort to perform a Mozart opera.
He is appearing in the popular Australian play Cosi at Phoenix Theatre, written by Louis Nowra and directed by Jayde Clark.
It follows fresh-faced university graduate Lewis, who is contracted to put on a play at the local asylum with some of its patients but he feels out of his depth directing them in the opera Cosi Fan Tutte.
Through working with the patients, Lewis eventually discovers a new side of himself which allows him to become emotionally involved and to value love.
Nowra is one of Australia's leading playwrights, responsible for Radiance, The Golden Age, Miss Bosnia and Summer of the Aliens.
He adapted Cosi into a 1996 film with Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, David Wenham, Ben Mendelsohn and Jacki Weaver, scoring the Australian Film Institute Award for best adapted screenplay.
McMahon plays Henry, a former lawyer who is very shy, socially awkward and easily led by the others in the asylum.
"He has fierce determination and strong anti-Communist feelings and will express both if pushed," McMahon said.
"Henry is morally conservative with a deep respect for women and the armed forces so has some issues with the central themes of Cosi Fan Tutte and Australia's involvement in the Vietnam conflict.
"But he often struggles to communicate those thoughts because of his aversion to social interaction.
"It's further exacerbated by the severe stutter he has developed as part of his mental illness although, like his paralysed arm, it comes and goes depending on how angry or upset he is."
Performing since 2011, McMahon is most comfortable doing bit-parts and support roles to add character to ensemble casts.
He has appeared in three stage productions, several short films, a music video and a feature film and has a recurring role as a wandering zombie at a WA theme park.
"I'm still essentially a newcomer," McMahon said.
"I have no formal acting or drama training so I'm absorbing all the tricks of the trade from talented actors around me.
"Cosi appealed because I thoroughly enjoyed both the original play script and film.
"The main challenge is getting myself into the mindset of an emotionally and psychologically damaged conservative '50s lawyer who has been thrust into the organised chaos of an early '70s mental institution."
Director Jayde Clark said she had a passion for Australian theatre because it can tell stories from our past.
"It shows the world how we can be loyal, loving and larrikins all at once," she said.
"Australian plays have the over-arching theme of mateship and that's what Cosi captures.
"It's a black comedy that gives you a fly-on-the-wall feeling about what happens in asylums and how people can band together to create something amazing."